


Immunity

by oikstooru



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, Angst, F/M, Graphic Description, M/M, Mentioned Tsukishima Kei, Mentioned Yamaguchi Tadashi, Romance, Sad, Team Mom Sugawara Koushi, This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things, Tragedy, Trauma, Violence, Zombie Apocalypse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-12
Updated: 2020-09-03
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:34:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 16
Words: 35,336
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25214011
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oikstooru/pseuds/oikstooru
Summary: Hinata's life was supposed to be over.He'd been bitten, he knew what awaited him. He knew he'd become a mindless monster, an empty shell of who he used to be, only caring about his next unfortunate victim.So why is he still alive? Well,halfalive, technically.The urge to rip out his boyfriend's throat pounded in his skull painfully, but he was conscious.Whether it was a miracle, or just dumb luck, Hinata felt relatively normal, as long as you don't count the animalistic screaming in his head, telling him toeat.
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou, Azumane Asahi/Nishinoya Yuu, Haiba Lev/Yaku Morisuke, Hanamaki Takahiro/Matsukawa Issei, Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio, Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru, Kozume Kenma/Kuroo Tetsurou, Sawamura Daichi/Sugawara Koushi, Shimizu Kiyoko/Tanaka Ryuunosuke, Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi
Comments: 158
Kudos: 259





	1. Miracle Boy

**Author's Note:**

> I've never tried writing a zombie apocalypse au, but the idea of this story popped into my head today and I want to read it really bad, so I guess I'll just have to write it myself lmao

_So this is it, huh?_

_After everything I've gone through until now, it's just going to end? That isn't fair! I've worked so hard to stay alive with the others, I don't want to become a zombie!_

Hinata sighed, looking down at the bloody corpses that had once been his teammates.

Yamaguchi and Tsukishima had been bitten earlier, and hadn't told anyone. Once the infection took over, they'd attacked Hinata when he was alone, and Yamaguchi had managed to bite into the flesh of Hinata's arm at the last second, right before he slammed a knife through Yamaguchi's eye, killing him. 

He had managed to kill Tsukishima first, feeling awfully guilty as he quickly decapitated his former frenemy. 

Hinata buried his head in his hands, desperately trying to stop the tears from spilling out. Taking a deep breath, he stood up. 

He decided to bury the two next to each other, letting the deceased lovers spend the rest of their eternity together. 

Just as he was finishing, he felt his arm tingle, before it quickly went numb. The numbness wasted no time, rapidly spreading throughout his entire body. A searing pain shot through his arm, making Hinata fall to his knees. 

"Ah, _fuck!_ " Hinata gasped, clutching his wounded arm. 

He collapsed onto the ground, moaning in pain. His entire body now felt like it was on fire, and his head was pounding. A wave of tiredness swept over the boy, and he succumbed into unconsciousness. 

-

"Hinata, oh my _god!_ We've all been searching for you for hours! What the hell happened here!?" A voice shouted, snapping Hinata awake. 

_Kill him. Kill him. Kill him. Kill him._

_Hurry up and do it! He's right next to you, just rip his throat out and EAT!_

A voice was screeching in his head, making Hinata's skull ache painfully. He opened his eyes, wincing as the bright daylight sent a sharp pain into his already sore head. 

"Suga?" What are you doing here?" Hinata asked, groggy with sleep. 

Hinata's sleepiness quickly faded when the smell hit him. He could smell Suga's blood, and hear it pulsing under the older boy's skin. It smelled _delicious_ , making Hinata nearly pounce on the silver-haired boy. 

Hinata's eyes widened as he realized what was going on. 

He was a zombie, but he was conscious enough to control himself, something nobody had seen before since the apocalypse had started two months ago. 

"Suga! Get back! I think Hinata was turned." A deep voice warned from behind. Hinata glanced over and spotted Daichi hovering behind Suga, a knife gripped in his hand. 

Sugawara quickly sprung away from the younger boy, concern spreading across his pale face. 

"Hinata, are you okay? Can you understand me?" He asked, grabbing a small knife from his pocket, just in case.

Hinata nodded, before clearing his throat.

"Uh, something's wrong," he explained, showing the two boys his bloody arm. "Yamaguchi and Tsukishima turned and attacked me, and Yamaguchi bit me right before I..I killed him." Hinata explained, voice cracking on the last few words.

"So you're going to turn." Daichi asked, more of statement than a question. 

"I already did." Hinata answered, gazing at his former caption. 

"What!?" Suga gasped, stepping back. 

"I turned and fainted, and I, er, have the same urges as a zombie, but I'm still in control of myself. I don't know what happened, but I won't attack you guys." Hinata assured, glancing at their knives nervously. 

"How is that even possible? Are you sure you actually turned? Maybe you just fainted out of fear or guilt or something?" Daichi reasoned, giving Hinata a distrustful look. 

"Daichi, not to freak you out or anything, but I'm currently fighting the painful urge to pounce on you and rip out your throat, and eat your dead body. That's something that only happens _after_ someone turns, you know that." Hinata snapped back bluntly, making the two other boys flinch. 

"I believe him." Suga said, standing between Hinata and Daichi. Daichi sighed, before nodding. 

"And I trust you." He relented, lowering his knife. 

Sugawara grinned, before quickly helping Hinata off the ground. Hinata gave him a look of appreciation, before stepping a few feet away from the two. 

"Um, not to make you guys uncomfortable, but I'd prefer keeping a bit of space between us for a while, until I have better control over myself. He explained sheepishly, trying to ignore the taunting smell of their blood. 

Sugawara nodded, and began leading them back to their camp. 

When they arrived, Kageyama ran up to them, throwing himself onto his boyfriend. 

"I was so worried, what the hell happened, you dumbass!?" He yelled, giving Hinata a tight squeeze. 

_KILL HIM. KILL HIM. KILL HIM. KILL HIM._

_JUST BITE HIM HE'S SO CLOSE._

_EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT._

Hinata felt himself open his mouth, leaning closer towards Kageyama's neck. He quickly forced himself to shove Kageyama off of him, stepping a few feet away. 

Kageyama have him a hurtful look, before approaching him again. "What was that for? Are you okay?" He asked, worry covering his face.

"Stay back, Kageyama! Don't touch me!" Hinata screeched, shaking. 

_KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL._

_Just do it, you know you want too._

A sinister voice inside his head taunted, and Hinata's head started pounding heavily, the ache nearly knocking him off his feet.

"What's going on!?" Kageyama panicked, glancing at Sugawara and Daichi. 

Sugawara quickly explained to Kageyama and all the others that had gathered around, heavily emphasizing that Hinata was in control of himself, it just took a lot of focus and was painful.

"You're not actually going to let him stay here with us, right?" Kuroo asked, giving them an incredulous glance. 

"If he can control himself, why not?" Noya defended, shooting the taller boy a sharp glare. 

"It's still extremely dangerous, we don't know if this is permanent or not." Iwaizumi reasoned, a hard look etched into his face. 

"I have to agree with Iwa-chan, but I think he could stay. We could have someone monitoring him at all times, that way we'd be able to make sure he doesn't go full zombie on us." Oikawa suggested, giving Hinata a small smirk. 

"I'll watch him! I'll stay with him, please don't make him leave!" Kageyama begged, standing in front of Hinata. 

Sugawara and Yachi gave the two lovers sympathetic glances, igniting a small spark of hope in Hinata's chest. 

"How about a vote?" Daichi suggested, making everyone look at him.

"I guess that's fair." Kuroo murmured, and Iwaizumi nodded in agreement.

"All right, everyone who wants Hinata to stay, raise your hands." Daichi commanded, before raising his own.

Noya, Yachi, Kageyama, Sugawara, Kenma, Kiyoko, Oikawa, Tanaka, and Bokuto all raised their hands. 

"Okay, now everyone who wants Hinata to leave, raise your hands."

Kuroo, Iwaizumi, Asahi, and Akaashi raised their hands.

"Asahi, what the hell! He's our _friend!"_ Noya shouted, giving the taller boy a harsh glare. 

"I know, but I have to put your safety first." Asahi explained, sadly, giving Hinata a guilty look. 

"I'm not mad, I understand that." Hinata smiled weakly. 

"That's bullshit, Asahi. Hinata's safety isn't any less important than mine, and fuck you for thinking I can't take care of myself." Noya spat, before storming off into the small store that they'd set up camp in earlier.

Asahi sighed, watching him go. 

"Akaashi, why would you vote to send Hinata away? He's our friend too, we're supposed to protect each other." Bokuto asked quietly, drawing everyone's attention. 

Bokuto was _never_ quiet. 

"It's too risky to have him with us, what if he hurts someone?" Akaashi reasonded, giving Hinata an apologetic glance. 

Hinata winced, knowing the truth behind Akaashi's words. 

Bokuto remained quiet, before heading back to their camp silently, Akaashi following right behind him, murmuring softly. 

Everyone else glanced at Daichi. 

"Well, you saw the votes. Hinata stays." He declared, giving Hinata a small smile. Kageyama let out a deep breath.

"Thank God." He whispered.

Hinata gave him a weak smile. 

"So, um, I don't think I should have any weapons anymore, just in case." Hinata piped up, and the others nodded.

"You'll probably want to sleep separately from us, so it's easier, right?" Suga questioned, approaching the ginger haired boy. 

"Yeah, that'd help." Hinata answered quietly. 

"Well, that's that! Let's head back to camp." Suga declared, leading the others back to their new living space. 

As the approached, Hinata took a moment to observe it. 

It was a small convenience store, with most of the shelves already ransacked. The doors were boarded up, to block out any zombies from breaking in. The shelves inside had been pushed near the ways, giving enough space for everyone to lay down when night came. 

Hinata spotted his stuff in a corner, pushed far away from everyone else's. 

He sat down, trying to ignore the states from the others. He knew they were wary, and he didn't blame them. Even now, the smell of everyone else's blood was overwhelming, making the boy's mouth water hungrily. 

_KILL THEM. KILL THEM ALL._

The voice in Hinata's head demanded, making Hinata shake his head vigorously, trying to ignore it. 

He noticed the others staring, and felt himself heat up, embarrassed.

"Sorry." He said quietly, looking at the ground. 

"What's it like?" Kuroo questioned, staring at him. 

"Bro, that's rude! I think." Bokuto scolded, glancing at Hinata. 

"It's fine," Hinata laughed weakly. "Um, are you sure you want to know though? It's pretty creepy." He warned, noticing everyone else had tuned into their conversation. 

"I can handle it." Kuroo assured.

"Okay..well, I can smell your blood. My entire body is screaming at me right now, telling me to run over there and rip you all apart, but I can stop myself from doing that. I can't stop myself from _wanting_ too, but I won't act on it, I promise." Hinata explained, biting his lip.

"Damn, that's freaky." Tanaka butted in, his eyes wide. 

Hinata laughed bitterly. "Yeah it's not very fun."

Kuroo gave him a look, before nodding to himself. "Alright, well, just don't eat Kenma." 

Hinata raised an eyebrow, but agreed. 

"Do we all smell the same? Like, is there someone you'd have a really hard time around, or is it the same for everyone?" Nishinoya asked, tilting his head curiously 

Hinata's eyes quickly flickered to Kageyama, remembering how close he'd come to biting his boyfriend. "It's harder around some, yeah." He murmured, glancing at the ground again. 

The others quieted, before Oikawa broke the silence.

"So, can you still eat actual food? Or what? Because I don't feel like becoming your dinner tonight." 

Hinata frowned, pondering the thought. 

"I have no idea." He answered honestly, praying that he could. 

A bag of chips was thrown at him. 

"Try." Iwaizumi instructed, prompting Hinata to open the bag and try one. The chip tasted like sawdust, but Hinata forced himself to swallow anyways. As soon as it had reached his stomach, he felt bile rise up his throat. Hinata sprinted outside, before throwing up into a nearby bush. 

The others had followed him out, with troubled expressions. 

"I guess not." Hinata said weakly, clutching his upset stomach. Oikawa raises his eyebrows. 

"So what _are_ you going to eat?" 

Hinata found himself unable to answer, and felt panic rise up inside his chest. Before he could fall into a panic attack, his head snapped towards the forest near their camp. 

He could smell something.

It wasn't a human, but it smelled similar enough to tempt him. 

"Hinata?" A voice broke him out of his thoughts. Hinata quickly turned to face the others, a gruesome expression on his face. 

"I think I know what I might be able to eat." He replied, ignoring their confused looks and running into the forest. 

The others yelled for him to come back, but he ignored them, pursuing the scent. Hinata had a feeling he knew what it was, but wanted to make sure. 

After he ran for a few minutes, he found the source of the smell. 

It was another zombie, an older man with dark brown hair. The zombie stumbled near Hinata, going towards the convenience store where his friends remained. 

_EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT._

The voice inside his head rampaged, and for the first time, Hinata allowed himself to listen.

He quickly grabbed the zombie's arm, yanking it towards him. He bit into it's neck, tearing at it's throat. The warm blood gushed into his mouth, tasting thick and sweet. 

It was _wonderful._

Hinata ravaged the other zombie, his feral instincts in full control. He chewed on it's flesh, sitting down on the hard ground. It tasted like nothing he'd ever eaten before, heavy like meat, but sweet and tangy at the same time. 

Once he was full, he tried to clean the blood off of his mouth with his shirt. He winced, noticing the blood stains all over his clothes. The others would definitely freak out. 

Hinata quickly headed back to the convenience store, trying to make it back before nightfall. The sun was setting quickly, and he didn't want to travel alone at night, even if he was already technically a zombie.

He managed to reach the store before the sun had fully set, catching Kurio's attention, since he had been assigned to guard first. 

Kuroo quickly spotted the blood stains and raised his knife, giving Hinata a sharp stare. Hinata raised his hands, stepping back. 

"I'm still me, and no, I didn't eat a human." He rushed, trying to convince Kuroo not to stab him. Kuroo looked at him, unsure. 

"Where is all that blood from, then?"

Hinata shuffled his feet, uncomfortable. "I ate another zombie." He admitted, avoiding Kuroo's look of shock. 

"Isn't that cannibalism?" Kuroo wondered, tilting his head. 

"Yeah that's kinda a part of the package when you become a zombie." Hinata snapped, ashamed.

"Oh yeah, that's true." Kuroo rubbed his neck sheepishly, allowing Hinata to enter their base.

When Hinata walked inside, everyone stared. Their eyes quickly settled on the blood stains covering his clothing. 

"What happened, where the hell did you run off too?" Sugawara scolded, running near him. Hinata took a small step back, forcing his hands to stay by his side, instead of wrapping them around Suga's throat. 

"I can smell other zombies." He declared, making the group fall into silence. 

"And I can eat them, too."


	2. Even Dead Guys Have Feelings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning - lots of descriptions of blood/corpses/etc
> 
> This chapter grossed me out lmao hope y'all enjoy

The cramped convenience story was eerily silent, everyone inside stunned by Hinata's confession. 

"You..ate another zombie?" Yachi asked, her face ashen. 

Hinata shuffled uncomfortably, hating the attention he was receiving from the others. It's not like it was his choice to become a zombie! "Yes. Would you rather I eat you instead?" He snapped glaring at the others. 

Yachi flinched, beginning to shake. "You..you wouldn't actually do- do t-that, right?" She asked meekly. 

Hinata felt like she'd slapped him.

He paused, realizing that none of the others had tried to stick up for him. Hinata gave them a humourless laugh. 

"You know what? I'm tired of this. I didn't ask to be bitten, and I haven't attacked any of you, you know why? Because you're my _friends._ At least, I sure as hell thought you were." He lashed out, before storming out of their base. 

"Hinata.." Sugawara's gentle voice called after him, but he ignored it and kept walking. 

Hinata passed Kuroo outside, who gave him a sideways glance. "Where are you going?" Kuroo asked, walking behind him. 

"I'm going on a walk." Hinata answered curtly. 

"I'll join you, it's not safe to be alone these days." Kuroo informed, jogging to catch up to the smaller boy. 

"You didn't seem to think that when you voted to force me to be alone, besides what's the worst that could happen? I'm already a zombie. If anything attacks me, I'll just eat it. Because I'm a terrible, terrible monster!" Hinata exclaimed sarcastically, leaving Kuroo stunned. 

"I'm sorry-" 

"Whatever. I don't really care. I'll be back soon, just let me be alone for a while." Hinata interrupted, leaving Kuroo behind. 

As Hinata got farther away from the store, he felt his chest squeeze painfully. Kageyama hadn't said anything earlier. Even after all they'd been through together, he still hadn't defended him. It's not like Hinata was hurting anybody, he was technically _helping_ the others. Every zombie Hinata ate was a zombie that they didn't have to fight. 

Rage filled Hinata, sending liquid fire through his veins. He wanted to break something, to rip someone apart limb by limb, so maybe, just _maybe_ , they would feel the same pain he did. 

He wanted to _kill._

By some stroke of luck, a familiar scent drifted towards him. There was another zombie nearby. Hinata let himself go, succumbing to his aggressive instincts once again.

His normally bright eyes became sharp and focused, his breathing smoothing out, letting him quietly track his prey. He ran his tongue over his canines, noticing they'd become much sharper after he turned. His footsteps were silent as he approached the zombie. 

It had its back to him, and didn't seem to notice him. If it had picked up his scent, it didn't seem to care. 

It was female, and appeared to be close to Hinata's age. Deep down, guilt stabbed at him. 

In another life, they might've become friends. 

But this wasn't a fairytale, it was the apocalypse, and Hinata was _starving_. He'd eaten only a few hours ago, but his anger made him feel as though it had never happened. 

He walked up to the other zombie, catching it's attention. It looked at him, shuffling slowly towards him. Hinata lunged towards her, sinking his canines into her throat, ignoring her struggling, and instead focusing on the blood that gurgled out quickly. He ripped out a chunk of her neck, chewing it aggressively. 

The zombie fell to the ground, going still. Hinata pounced on top of it, tearing away at it's flesh. The blood smeared all over his hands, but he ignored it, too busy focusing on how it tasted. 

_EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT._

All he could think about was the corpse in front of him, and how easy it was to tear of chunks of it's meat. He felt blood splatter against his clothing, and felt it ooze over his fingers. 

The zombie was now a mangled corpse, with it's throat torn out, and large chunks of flesh missing from it's arms and stomach. Blood seeped out if it's wounds, staining the grass beneath them. It's pale skin was covered with scratches and bite marks, evidence of how feral he'd been. 

Once Hinata was full, he managed to calm down and assess what he had done. He felt sick, a sinking stone of guilt heavily resting in his stomach. 

This was way worse than last time. This time, he'd completely abandoned his humanity, going completely wild on the poor creature. Tears sprung against his lashes, quickly streaming down his face. 

Hinata slumped against a tree, his eyes glued to the unfortunate corpse in front of him. How could he judge the others for being afraid of him, when he was also terrified of who he'd become? He was a monster, and everyone else knew it. 

He sat their, bawling for an hour. The guilt was consuming him, making him sink into a pit of self hatred. What if he'd been unable to stop himself, and attacked Kageyama? He wouldn't be able to live with himself if he hurt any of the others. 

Hinata sighed, looking down at his bloody hands. Another wave of guilt hit him, forcing him to blink back tears. He wiped his hands on the grass, trying not to stare at the streaks of red left behind. His hands still had some dried blood on them, but he was to exhausted to care. 

Hinata silently approached the corpse, giving it a sad look. "I'm so sorry." He whispered, before quickly walking away, forcing himself not to glance back. 

-

Hinata headed back towards the convenience store, tiredness weighing in his bones.

It was well past midnight by now, and he desperately wanted to fall into a deep sleep and never wake up. 

He made it there slowly, carefully approaching the entrance.

Sugawara was standing outside, keeping watch. He quickly spotted Hinata and ran over to him, hugging him quickly before springing back. "Hinata, thank God you're okay! I was so worried." He breathed, sticking his knife into his pocket. 

Hinata looked at him silently.

"I'm so sorry about how we reacted earlier, we were just surprised, you know? Nobody is judging you, I promise." Sugawara apologized softly.

That's all it took for Hinata to burst into tears. They slipped past his cheeks, leaving the miserable boy sobbing into his own hands. Sugawara immediately hugged him, rubbing his back. 

"It's going to be alright, don't worry." He soothed, unafraid. Hinata cried onto his shoulder until he ran out of tears, before gently pulling away. 

"I'm a monster." Hinata whispered, looking down at his hands, hands that had been covered with somebody else's blood less than an hour ago. 

"No, you're just trying to survive. Nothing is wrong with that." Sugawara defended, placing a hand on the ginger's shoulder. Hinata shook his head. 

"No, you weren't there, Suga. You didn't see what I _did._ It was a massacre, I was completely wild. I ripped it apart, and I _enjoyed_ it." Hinata croaked, shaking. His wide eyes stared into Sugawara's, reflecting the moonlight. 

"Hinata, you aren't a monster. We all eat meat too, just different kinds. There's nothing wrong with enjoying something that you think tastes good, just because others don't like it." Sugawara whispered, stroking the younger boys hair. Hinata sighed, knowing Suga was wrong, but was to tired to argue any further. 

"I'm going to sleep." Hinata replied, dragging himself inside, towards his corner of the store. 

_Separate from all the others, because I'm a monster._

Hinata layed down, quickly falling into a deep sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading!!


	3. All You Can Eat Buffet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Idk how to write a good summary :')

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this at 2am so sorry about any grammar mistakes lmao

"Hinata, it's time to wake up." A voice called, and Hinata felt somebody shake his shoulders enough to awake him. 

The smell of blood immediately overwhelmed him, making his eyes snap open, he felt his hand dart towards Noya, who'd been the one to wake him up. 

He quickly slapped his free hand around his other wrist, stopping himself before he could hurt Noya. He lowered his hands, avoiding Noya's gaze. 

"Sorry." He apologized quietly, upset that he'd been so close to attacking yet another friend of his. Noya laughed, startling him. He glanced up at the wild-haired boy, confused. 

"I'm flattered that you'd want to eat me, but I'll have to decline your offer." He snickered, standing up and offering Hinata a hand. Hinata cracked a smile, taking his hand and allowing him to pull him out of his makeshift bed. He glanced around and spotted several of their companions still asleep. Kenma was awake, and gave him a gentle nod of greeting. Hinata gave him a small smile in return, before turning back to Noya.

"Anyways, we're about to go on a supply run, and I figured you'd probably want to come. I'm sure you could find a couple zombies to eat, and it'd be helpful to have you sniff out any threats." Noya explained, casually mentioning Hinata's awkward diet. 

"Oh, okay, sure." Hinata agreed, following the other boy outside. Kageyama, and Daichi waited for them, and they quickly headed towards them. 

"Hinata, are you sure you don't want some type of weapon?" Daichi questioned, frowning at how vulnerable he seemed. Hinata quickly ran his tongue over his sharp teeth, before nodding. 

"I don't need one, I'll be fine." He assured, grimly. Daichi simply nodded, before leading their group. They walked for a while, before discovering a dirt road. Following the road, they found themselves at a small town. Hinata's head perked up, the familiar scent of other zombies flooding his senses. 

"There's others here." He whispered, gathering everyone's attention. Kageyama gave him an unreadable look, and Noya whistled. 

"Damn, you really can sniff them out, huh?" Noya grinned, smacking a hand against Hinata's back. Hinata gave him an awkward smile. 

"How many? Can you tell?" Daichi asked quietly, and Hinata closed his eyes, breathing in deeper. He opened his eyes against, pupils slitting. 

"Not that many, probably around five? I can take care of them while you guys wait here, if you want." He offered, glancing at Daichi. The others looked at him, incredulous.

"You want to fight five at once?" Kageyama asked, eyebrows knitting together. Even Noya looked doubtful.

"Yeah, I know I'll be fine. I'd just rather do it by myself, I prefer you guys don't see me while I'm, er, you know." Hinata confirmed, rubbing his neck uncomfortably. Daichi nodded, glancing around. 

"Okay, if you need back up, just give us a shout." Daichi told him, before sitting down. Hinata nodded, before setting down the bag he'd brought to hold supplies. 

"Don't leave here until I come back, okay? It might take me a second to calm down after." Hinata said, before briskly walking towards the source of the scents. 

He arrived at clothes shop, smelling two zombies inside. The zombie's shuffled around slowly, ignoring Hinata. He quickly approached the nearest one, allowing himself to let down his guard, and felt his instincts take over. 

He yanked on the zombie's arm, forcing it towards him. It let out a groan, protesting. Hinata quickly sunk his incisors into it's throat, ripping through it. It crumpled beneath him, blood spattering against the glass door behind them. The sweet taste of it's blood spread across Hinata's tongue, but he forced himself to step away. 

Hinata turned towards the to the other zombie, a smaller child, probably around seven years old before it had been turned. Guilt stabbed at him, but he still bit at it's throat, quickly killing it. He'd tried to make it as painless as possible for the child, but he still felt the guilt wash over him. 

Shaking his head, Hinata decided to move the corpses into a bathroom, so the others wouldn't need to see the mess he'd made. Before leaving, he decided to eat quickly, and pounced onto the older zombie. He tore at it's flesh, lapping up the blood that poured out, covering his hands. He chewed the flesh, savouring the taste. The blood was spreading quickly, leaving the small bathroom floored completely smeared with red, small chunks of the corpse scattered across the floor. 

Hinata finished as quickly as he could, before standing up. He glanced at the mangled corpse beneath him, whispering a quick apology. 

When he was done, he left the clothes store, following the scents of two more zombies nearby. They were walking around a grocery store. 

The stores windows had been smashed in, and plenty of the food inside had either been stolen, or rotted. Nevertheless, Hinata walked inside, heading towards the zombies. He knew the others would be able to find some food to eat, and he didn't want them to see any corpses laying around.

He quickly ripped out the closest zombie's throat, before moving onto the next one. The other zombie died just as fast as the first one, unable to put up much of a fight against Hinata. 

He dragged their corpses one by one, towards the clothes shop's bathroom. He abandoned them in there, wincing at the bloody trail he'd left behind. 

He could only smell one more nearby, a lot closer to the others than the last four had been. Hinata quickly broke into a sprint, worry pulsing inside him. He found the zombie right as it found the others, and lunged for it. 

Daichi, Noya, and Kageyama stared at him, watching the zombie squirm around underneath him. 

_KILL THEM. FORGET ABOUT THE ZOMBIE, EAT THE HUMANS._

_EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT._

Hinata's heart pounded, as he tried desperately to ignore the voice screaming inside him. "Get out of here, I already took care of the other ones!" He shouted, startling the others. 

The zombie under him groaned, fighting against him. Hinata felt himself growl back, aggressively ripping into it's throat. 

He heard the others start to run, and felt relief swell inside of him. The zombie beneath him weakly clawed at him, but Hinata swatted it's hands away, tearing it's neck apart. 

It died immediately, falling still. Hinata debated whether or not he should eat it, before ripping off its scratched up arm. 

He carried with him, eating a few mouthfuls as he followed the scents of his friends and boyfriend. Before they could spot him, he threw the arm into a bush and wiped the blood off of his mouth. 

The voice in his head was gone now, replaced by the usual dull pounding. 

He found the others inside the grocery store, searching for food to bring back home. Noya spotted him first, and waved. 

"Thanks for saving our asses back there!" He shouted, before turning back to the shelf in front of him. Hinata nodded, glancing at Kageyama. 

The back haired boy was focusing intently on the small selection of canned goods in front of him. Hinata slumped, disappointed that his boyfriend was still uncomfortable around him. 

"You don't smell anymore of them, right?" Daichi asked, tossing Hinata's empty bag towards him. 

"Yeah, we should be good for now." Hinata confirmed, tossing his bag over his shoulder. Daichi smiled.

"Cool, let's split up then so we can get this done quickly." 

Hinata nodded, before heading outside. There was a small pharmacy next to the grocery store, and he was hopeful that he'd be able to find some type of medicine for any future injuries. 

The pharmacy had clearly already been raided, but some of the shelves still contained medicine. Hinata headed towards some painkillers, pleased to find some left over. He tossed them into his bag. Moving on to the next shelf, he shoved a few random types of bandages and random bottles of pills into his bag, hoping that someone back at their base would be able to find a use for them. 

Other than his few lucky finds, there wasn't much left in the pharmacy. He spotted a few candy bars near the register, and grabbed them, pleased. Kenma loved chocolate, and would be happy to have them. 

He headed back towards the grocery store, bumping into Daichi and Noya, who seemed to be waiting for Hinata and Kageyama to return.

"Where's Kageyama?" Hinata questioned, grabbing their attention. Noya glanced at Hinata's bag, before answering. 

"He said he spotted a clothes store and wanted to look some warmer clothes for the others." Noya answered. Panic welled up inside Hinata. 

What if Kageyama saw the corpses? 

_"Fuck."_ he cursed, running towards the store. 

When he burst inside, he didn't see Kageyama. He bolted towards the bathroom, and found Kageyama staring inside. 

"You weren't supposed to see that." Hinata whispered, voice cracking. Kageyama spun around to face him, his face pale. 

"I saw the blood trail, and thought someone might be inside there." He explained quickly, stepping away from the doorway. Before the door swung shut, Hinata saw the familiar scene again. 

The walls had blood splattered all over them, and blood was smeared all over the floor, with large pools over it spreading out of one of the several corpses tossed inside. Their bodies were ripped hazardously, pieces torn off and consumed earlier. 

Hinata winced, realizing how gross it looked. 

Kageyama cleared his throat, regaining Hinata's focus. "I'm not judging you, I was just surprised." 

Hinata nodded dumbly, unsure how to reply. 

"Want to head back together? The others must be waiting by now." Kageyama suggested, grabbing his bag. 

"Sure." Hinata tried to give him a smile, but failed miserably. 

Kageyama walked next to him, the tantalizing smell of his blood flooding Hinata's senses. 

_BITE HIM BITE HIM BITE HIM BITE HIM._

The voice in his head went wild, recognizing the familiar scent. Something about Kageyama's blood drove him insane, making it total agony to refrain from attacking him. 

Hinata shook his head, ignoring the weird look his boyfriend gave him. 

"Let's go." Hinata murmured, walking back towards the others, with Kageyama trailing behind him. 

The two boys quickly arrived to the grocery store, grabbing Daichi and Noya's attention. The two shot Hinata concerned looks, remembering how he'd panicked. Hinata ignored them pointedly, hoisting his bag back over his shoulder. 

"Let's go home." 

The others nodded, letting Daichi lead them back the way they came. After walking for a short while, they arrived at the spot where Hinata had killed the last zombie, and Hinata inwardly cursed at himself for not moving the corpse earlier. 

Everyone made a very obvious effort not to mention the missing arm, and avoided looking at the dead body beside them. Hinata appreciated the effort, but felt awkward nonetheless. 

He watched Noya's eyes linger on the corpse, an expression of awe and disgust flickering across his face, before he tore his eyes away. Hinata sighed quietly, discomfort pricking under skin at the scene. 

He felt disgusting. He _was_ disgusting. 

-

Around an hour later, they arrived back at their base. Oikawa and Bokuto ran out to greet them, Akaashi trailing behind them. 

"Did you get any good stuff?" Oikawa asked, curiously peeking at their bags. Noya grinned. 

"I found beef jerky!" He shouted, bouncing in place. Bokuto whooped in victory, making Oikawa roll his eyes. 

"Did you guys find any nice clothes? Mine are dirty and it's getting too cold to wear a thin sweatshirt everyday." Oikawa interrupted the celebration, turning towards the other three. 

"I found a clothes store and picked up a few things." Kageyama answered, avoiding Hinata's glance. 

"Sweet! Let me see, Tobio-chan!" Oikawa exclaimed grabbing Kageyama's bag and running back into the convenience store, leaving a sighing Kageyama chasing after him. 

Hinata walked in after them, looking around for Kenma. He found him sitting next to Kuroo, silently observing Oikawa and Kageyama's fighting over the clothes.

"I'm the one who found them, I get to choose which ones are mine!" Kageyama shouted, yanking at the bag. Oikawa pulled back, frowning.

"Yeah but I'm prettier!" 

"That has literally nothing to do with this!" Kageyama exclaimed, exasperated.

"So you admit it's true!" Oikawa cackled, abruptly stopping when Iwaizumi smacked the back of his head. "Ow, rude, Iwa-chan!" 

Kageyama took advantage of the brunette's distraction, and grabbed the bag and ran outside. Oikawa screeched, chasing after him. Hinata snickered, before walking up to Kenma and Kuroo.

"I found some candy for you, Kenma." He said, tossing the chocolate bars towards the quiet boy.

"Thanks, Sho." He murmured, a pleased expression flashing across his face, before quickly turning neutral again. 

"Oh also, Kuroo, you're smart with chemicals and science stuff, right?" Hinata asked, turning towards the dark haired boy.

"I guess, why?" Kuroo asked, giving him a curious look. 

"I found a pharmacy and grabbed some random medicine, along with painkillers and stuff. I was wondering if you'd be able to find a use for it." Hinata explained, handing the bag to him. 

Kuroo perked up, excited. He dumped the bag out on the ground, picking up a couple of the pill bottles. 

"This one says it's called Amoxicillin, and I'm fairly certain it's for infections, I think I read once that it can be used for pneumonia and other chest infections." Kuroo explained, showing Kenma and Hinata a pill bottle. "That can definitely be useful in the future. This other one says it's Amlodipine, which I know is used for high blood pressure. I'm not sure if it'll be useful, but we should keep it just in case. 

"Do you recognize any of the others?" Hinata asked, glancing at the few other pill bottles on the ground. 

"Nope, I'm more of a chemical guy, not a doctor." Kuroo shrugged, tossing the pills back into the bag. 

"Okay, thanks for the help!" Hinata smiled, before leaving the two alone. 

He headed over to his corner, collapsing on top of his makeshift bed, an old sleeping bag with a sweatshirt balled up as a pillow. He quickly fell asleep, exhausted from all the work he'd done today.


	4. Now We're Even

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Y'all finally getting some backstory 😌
> 
> I'm not feeling this chapter y'all, it feels short to me but it's around 2,300 words and that's normally my cut off point. Hope you enjoy anyways!!

_"You're a monster."_

_Kageyama's disgusted face glared at Hinata, his eyes quickly flickering to the pile of corpses mounded behind the ginger boy._

_It was every zombie he'd killed since turning, just a few days ago- the pile already a disturbing size. Their bodies were tattered, flesh hanging off their limbs, torn with Hinata's brutal strength. Blood soaked the ground beneath the two boys, a barrier forcing the lovers apart._

_"I'm sorry, please don't hate me." Hinata begged, voice cracking. Kageyama scoffed, wrinkling his face with distaste._

_"Pathetic. I wish you'd just died instead of becoming a freak." Kageyama spat, ignoring the tears streaming down Hinata's face._

_"I'm sor-"_

_"Whatever. Just die, already." Kageyama interrupted, walking away from the crying boy._

Hinata woke up with a gasp, tears springing from his eyes. 

It was still dark outside, with the moon sending a soft light through the ceiling skylights. The glow was just bright enough for Hinata to see Oikawa staring at him. 

"Sorry, did I wake you?" Hinata croaked, trying to subtly wipe his tears. Oikawa shook his head, before walking towards him and crouching down.

"No, I just couldn't sleep." A beat of silence sat between the two of them, before Oikawa glanced at him. "Do you want to talk about it?" 

Hinata looked at him, startled. 

"You were shaking and freaking out before you woke up. I couldn't help but notice." Oikawa explained, rubbing his neck awkwardly.

Hinata felt himself heat up, embarrassed. "Oh, sorry. It was just a nightmare." Oikawa nodded, placing a hand on his shoulder. 

"What was it about?" The brunette prompted gently. Hinata took a deep, shuddering breath. 

"Kageyama saw what I did. He hates me now, I just know it. How could I blame him? Even I hate myself. You guys should've just killed me right when I turned." Hinata whispered, holding his head in his hands, trying to stop the tears brimming behind his lashes. 

"Did he say he hated you?" Oikawa questioned, his normally teasing voice had softened, becoming soothing and gentle. 

"Well, no, but-"

"Then he doesn't hate you. He's your boyfriend, if he hated you, he would've dumped you." Oikawa interrupted bluntly, rubbing his hand in circles on the ginger's back. 

"You didn't see what he saw, Oikawa-san. It was disgusting, _god,_ I should've hidden the bodies better, or at least warned them beforehand." Hinata cursed, sighing. 

"He saw some dead zombies? Really? That's what's making you freak out?" Oikawa asked, an incredulous look on his face. Hinata nodded sadly. "Well, you're an idiot. This is the apocalypse, we've all seen our fair share of dead zombies, and dead people in general. If he gets scared after seeing a few that you killed, then he's a pussy." The brunette declared, smirking.

"Yeah, but these ones were half eaten." Hinata winced, remembering how much he'd enjoyed ripping into them. 

"Who cares? It's not that big of a deal. It's much better than you eating living humans." Oikawa waved his hand dismissively. The two fell into a comfortable silence, with Hinata processing what the older boy had said. 

_I guess he's right, but that doesn't make it any less gross._

"Oikawa-san? Can I ask you a question?" Hinata asked, facing the brunette. Oikawa looked at him, surprised, but nodded nonetheless. "Why did you vote to let me stay? You and Iwaizumi-san always agree, why not vote with him?"

Oikawa's lips cocked up into a lopsided grin. "Do you remember how our two groups first met after the apocalypse started? You vouched for me, so I owed you one." He explained, grinning. 

Hinata tilted his head, remembering the unfortunate situation Oikawa had been in only a few weeks prior. 

Karasuno's volleyball team had been on their way to a practice game with Nekoma, when they'd been attacked by zombies. Ennoshita, Kinoshita, and Narita had all been bitten, and Coach Ukai and Takeda got bitten while protecting the team. 

The surviving members ran away, deciding to try to make it to Tokyo anyways, in hope for supplies. They'd eventually run into Oikawa, Iwaizumi, Kenma, Kuroo, Bokuto, and Akaashi once they'd arrived, and the two groups decided to stick together, despite the fact that Oikawa was seriously slowing them all down.

_"Why don't we just leave him behind? He's slowing us down!" Kageyama grumbled, glaring at his upperclassman._

_"It's not exactly my choice to have a fucked up knee." Oikawa snapped back, crossing his arms. His right knee was swollen, having been dislocated a week ago, while running from a herd of zombies. He'd luckily been traveling with Iwaizumi, Kuroo, Kenma, Bokuto, and Akaashi, who had all managed to fight off the zombies for him._

_"I'm not leaving Shittykawa behind. If you're kicking him out, then I'm staying with him." Iwaizumi declared, standing next to the injured brunette. Oikawa looked at him gratefully, leaning his head against the boy's arm._

_"It would be more practical to leave him, but that's still really cruel to do. Just because it's the apocalypse doesn't mean we need to abandon our humanity." Akaashi reasoned, brutally honest as usual._

_"Still, we need to find a way to start traveling faster. I don't want to ditch Oikawa either, but we need to do something." Kuroo groaned, frustrated._

_"Bro, what if I was injured? Would you leave me behind?" Bokuto asked, frowning._

_"I would never, bro." Kuroo assured, patting Bokuto's back._

_"Bro."_

_Bokuto wiped away a fake tear, making everyone but Kuroo roll their eyes._

_"We are not leaving Oikawa-san behind. That would be leaving him to die, and I'm not going to take part in that. So what if he's injured? That isn't his fault, and it'll heal eventually. We can set up camp for a week or two, and move on when he's healed. We're his friends." Hinata defended, surprising everyone._

_"I'm not his friend." Kageyama mumbled, but nobody heard him._

_"Thanks, Shrimpy-chan." Oikawa said, smiling at the ginger haired boy. Hinata nodded, before turning to Kageyama._

_"Just because you two don't get along, doesn't mean that he deserves to be abandoned. Get it together, Kageyama. You aren't a bad person, so stop acting like one." He snapped, crossing his arms angrily._

_Kageyama frowned, but nodded anyways. "Fine, he can stay, or whatever."_

_"Wow, thanks, Tobio-chan." Oikawa rolled his eyes, irritated. Kageyama stuck his tongue out at him, before walking away._

_"Well, I guess that's all settled. Let's set up camp." Daichi instructed, leading the others towards the small convenience store they'd found._

"That's why you stood up for me?" Hinata asked, dubiously. 

"Yup. You had my back, so I had yours, Shrimpy-chan." Oikawa answered proudly, grinning down at the younger boy. Hinata gave him a small smile, before yawning loudly. 

"I'm going to get some sleep, you should try too." He murmured, laying back down. Oikawa ruffled his hair, before shuffling back towards his own sleeping area. 

Hinata sighed quietly, before sinking into a dreamless sleep.

-

"Everyone get up! Hurry!" A voice shouted, pulling Hinata out from his unconsciousness. The ginger boy sat up, rubbing his eyes. The familiar scent of the undead hit his nostrils, making him slightly more alert. 

Bokuto quickly ran up to Hinata, shaking his shoulders. "There's two zombies outside!"

"I'll handle them, you guys just stay inside." He replied slowly, still tired. Bokuto quickly debated it, before nodding. 

"Everyone get inside, Hinata says he'll handle them!" He yelled, grasping everyone's attention. Iwaizumi raised an eyebrow, but ushered everyone back inside anyways.

"You sure about this?" Iwaizumi asked doubtfully, and Hinata nodded in response. He understood why the others weren't sure about him handling multiple zombies at once. 

When the apocalypse had first started, everyone assumed the zombies would be slow and stupid, easy enough to kill. They were painfully mistaken, and several people paid for that with their lives.

These zombies were as fast as regular humans, and stronger than them too. They were pretty difficult to kill, because all they thought about was their next meal, making them reckless. They were mindless hunters, willing to put their lives on the line in order to eat. 

But Hinata knew he could fight them easily. They may be reckless, but Hinata's turning had given him the same perks as them, and he knew how to control them, to use them to his advantage. He knew how to _think,_ which gave him an enormous advantage. He was the perfect killing machine. 

Hinata stepped outside, feeling the familiar burn of everyone else's eyes drilling into him. He really didn't want them to watch. 

The zombies had been pounding on the windows, desperately trying to break inside. As soon as Hinata opened the door, they bolted towards him. 

As they tried to push past him, Hinata sighed, grabbing their necks in each hand. He glanced over his shoulder, catching the eyes of his companions.

"I'll be back in a bit." He informed, holding back a yawn. He definitely needed more sleep, being a zombie was exhausting.

The others nodded, eyes wide as they watched the zombies scratch at Hinata, leaving deep cuts. Hinata rolled his eyes, irritated. 

"You are so damn annoying." He cursed quietly, yanking the zombies out towards the forest, ignoring their groaning and scratching. He quickly found a secluded spot, and turned towards the zombie on his left. Hinata quickly bit into it's throat, yanking it's flesh away. 

The blood oozed onto his tongue, and he chewed slowly, watching the zombie fall still, crumpling onto the ground. He kicked it away, turning towards the other zombie. 

The zombie lunged at him, sensing the danger. Hinata dodged, grabbing it's arm and yanking it onto the ground. He put his foot on it's throat, stomping down until he heard the loud crack of it's neck breaking. The zombie stopped moving, and Hinata yanked off it's arm, deciding eat a bit before heading back. 

He bit into it's flesh, tearing away a piece. It was less sweet than usual, and the meat was stringy. The zombie he took it from was extremely thin, so he wasn't surprised, but it was still disappointing. He ate a few more bites, until he felt full. 

Tossing the arm into a bush, he wiped off his mouth. 

It had taken him around ten minutes to kill and eat the zombies, and would take him about five more minutes to get back to their base. He wondered how the others would react.

Would they be grateful that he stopped the threat? Or would they be uncomfortable? 

Hinata shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. He knew he'd go straight back to bed when he got back. It was early morning, and he'd spent most of the night awake already.

Being a zombie definitely had an impact on his energy, making him get tired a lot more easily than he'd used too. 

-

Hinata arrived at the store just a few minutes later, finding Nishinoya standing outside, guarding. He approached the smaller boy, yawning. 

"Hey, you're back! How'd it go?" Noya questioned, glancing at the scratches on his arms. 

"It was fine, I don't know. I need a nap." Hinata answered slowly, earning a nod from Noya.

"Okay, sleep well!" Noya encouraged, opening the door for him. Hinata nodded in thanks, walking inside. 

The others immediately glanced at him, going quiet. "Are you okay? Do you want some ointment for your wounds?" Sugawara questioned, walking up to him. 

"I'm fine, I'm just gonna take a nap." Hinata answered slowly, yawning. Sugawara gave him a worried look, but didn't stop him. 

Hinata shuffled over to his corner, catching Asahi's eye on his way. He gave him a small smile, before turning away. 

Hinata remembered the fight between Asahi and Noya, and promised himself that he'd help them make up after his nap. 

Sinking into his sleeping bag, he sunk into a deep sleep effortlessly, exhaustion weighing in his bones. 

-

Hinata woke up several hours later, around noon. Rubbing his eyes, he sat up and glanced around the room. 

Kenma was sharpening his knife with Sugawara, who was chatting with Oikawa. 

Oikawa was leaning on Iwaizumi's shoulder, while Iwaizumi massaged the brunette's knee. Iwaizumi seemed lost in thought, his fingers lazily tracing around the kneecap. 

Kageyama was talking to Yachi and Kiyoko. Kiyoko was sitting beside Tanaka, who had his arm wrapped around her, giving her a gentle side-hug. 

Nishinoya was sitting by himself, fidgeting with a knife, while very pointedly ignoring the longing gaze Asahi was sending him from across the store. 

Hinata sighed, realizing that the two friends weren't going to resolve the issue on their own. He stood up slowly, padding towards Noya. 

"Hey, can I talk to you outside for a bit?" Hinata asked quietly, crouching down. Noya nodded confusedly, but followed him outside nonetheless. "Why aren't you talking to Asahi?" 

Noya crossed his arms. "He's a scared little crybaby, and you know it! He voted to send you away, why aren't you mad?" The older boy shouted, giving Hinata an angry look.

"He's allowed to be scared, and it's not your place to be upset for me. I understand his reasoning, and you should too. He just wants to be careful, which is perfectly normal. Just give him a chance, okay?" Hinata prompted, looking into Nishinoya's eyes.

"Fine, I'll talk to him. I'm still mad though. He shouldn't have treated you like that." Noya relented, sighing. Hinata smiled, watching Noya approach Asahi. 

The two began talking quietly, making Hinata breathe a sigh of relief.

The two would work it out, they always did.


	5. Pack Your Bags

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if the distance between Tokyo & Miyagi is inaccurate, Google told me different things literally everytime I searched it up so I just went with the average.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm excited for the next chapter!! This one was a pain to write because I'm eager to get to the next one already lmao
> 
> I didn't beta read this chapter I literally spent all day trying to write it, im not taking any responsibility for any grammar mistakes at this point 🤡

Hinata glanced around their store, noticing that a few of their members were missing. He spotted Akaashi sitting next to the doorway, keeping guard. 

"Hey Akaashi. Where did the others disappear to?" Hinata questioned, walking up to the older boy. Akaashi glanced up at him. 

"Kuroo, Daichi, and Bokuto-san went on another supply run."

"Just those three? Aren't the supply runs supposed to be at least four people?" Hinata asked, confused. 

Akaashi sighed. "I was supposed to go, but Bokuto-san insisted I stay here instead. He said he was bringing me a surprise." Hinata smiled, catching the fond undertone of Akaashi's exasperated voice. 

"He really cares about you, huh?" Hinata grinned.

Akaashi smiled softly. "It's mutual."

-

"Hey hey hey! We're back!" Bokuto's shouting caught everyone's attention, making them walk outside. 

"Look what we found!" Kuroo exclaimed, proudly slapping the roof of the van he was climbing out of. 

The van was clearly old, a faded dark blue color full of dents and scratches, with mud splattered along the sides. 

"HELL YEAH!" Noya yelled, running up to it. The wild-haired boy jumped on to the side of the car, clinging to it. He managed to wiggle his way to the roof, before standing on top of it. 

"NOYA, GET DOWN FROM THERE!" Daichi commanded, an irritated expression covering his face. He had been sitting behind the drivers wheel, and climbed out to try to grab Nishinoya.

Hinata laughed, watching the squabble. 

Daichi eventually managed to convince Noya to get off the car, before turning to the others. "Bokuto found it. It has a decent amount of gas, but we'll have to find a way to get some more soon." 

"We should head to Karasuno High! It's closer than the other schools, I think, and they'll probably have gas for buses there. Plus it's a school, so there'll be plenty of food." Tanaka suggested, grabbing everyone's attention. 

"That might actually work. Oikawa, your knee is pretty much all good now, right?" Daichi asked, turning to the brunette.

"Yep." Oikawa nodded, earning a suspicious look from Iwaizumi. 

"Uh guys? There's a tiny problem your'e forgetting." Yachi piped up nervously. Kenma nodded, standing beside her. 

"How are we all supposed to fit in that van? There's too many of us." Kenma pointed out quietly. Everyone went quiet, thinking it over. 

"We can just squeeze everyone in. The back seems big enough, we'll just have to be squished together." Sugawara decided, earning unenthusiastic groans. 

Hinata paled, realizing what it meant for him. 

He was going to be trapped in an enclosed space, surrounded by deadly temptation, for hours. 

"Hinata, will you be okay with that?" Kiyoko asked softly, noticing his troubled expression. Hinata gave her an unsure smile. 

"I guess I'll have to be, won't I?" 

He knew this would be the ultimate test of his control, one he couldn't afford to fail. 

"Akaashi! Do you like the surprise?" Bokuto chirped, bouncing in place in front of his calmer boyfriend. 

"Yes, Bokuto-san. Did you find it last week, and wait until the next supply run to get it, so it would be a surprise?" Akaashi questioned. 

"Yup!" Bokuto nodded enthusiastically. Akaashi raised an eyebrow. 

"What if someone had taken it after we left last time? Next time, please just tell us instead of keeping it a secret, okay?"

Bokuto deflated slightly. "I didn't think about that, sorry 'Kaashi." 

Akaashi smiled gently, giving his boyfriend a quick kiss. "Well, it worked out this time anyways, so don't worry." He assured, amusement lacing his words. Bokuto instantly perked up, wrapping Akaashi into a hug. 

Hinata smiled at the couple's antics, slightly jealous. Kageyama and him hadn't been that close since he'd turned. 

He was getting better at controlling himself, but that didn't stop his head from screaming at him constantly, telling him to just give in and kill them. 

Hinata had tried to tune out the voice in his head once, which only resulted in a migraine and increased appetite, stopping him from trying again. 

"So when are we leaving?" Kuroo's voice asked, breaking Hinata away from his thoughts. 

"We should leave today. We're already low on food, and we didn't find much during the supply run. Everyone should go grab your stuff, then we can sort out the seating arrangements." Daichi decided, before heading inside their store. 

"I call shotgun!" Sugawara yelled, grinning. 

Nobody argued, everyone already knew Daichi would be driving, and he worked best with his boyfriend. 

Sighing, Hinata followed the others inside to grab their stuff. He didn't have much, just his sleeping bag and some clothes. Hinata quickly rolled up his sleeping bag, and stuffed the rest of his belongings in his backpack.

Hoisting his bag over his shoulder, he headed outside with the others. 

The back doors of the van were flung open, showing Yachi, Kiyoko, Tanaka, Asahi, and Noya already inside, huddled together in a back corner of the van. Their stuff was piled beside them, occupying the other back corner. 

Akaashi and Bokuto climbed into the van, tossing their own stuff onto the pile and sitting next to it. Kuroo followed them, sitting closest to the doors, with Kenma laying lazily on his lap. 

Kenma was patiently listening to Kuroo, who was excitedly ranting about some experiment he wanted to try once they'd reached Karasuno. 

Oikawa was also sitting in his boyfriend, Iwaizumi's, lap, who was scowling at him as he chattered teasingly.

Kageyama sat across form them, leaving just enough space for Hinata to squeeze in next to the door. 

Hinata's heart pounded as he stepped inside the van, shutting the doors behind him. He was wedged in between Kageyama and the door, unable to breathe without inhaling everyone's scents. 

_BITE HIM BITE HIM BITE HIM BITE HIM._

_HE'S RIGHT NEXT TO YOU, JUST DO IT ALREADY._

_HE'S SO CLOSE._

_KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL._

_EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT!_

Hinata bit his lip, tasting blood. Leaning his head against the wall, he closed his eyes, trying to block out the screaming inside his head. 

This was _torture._

"Are you okay?" Kageyama whispered, leaning in towards the silent ginger. The smell of his blood flooded Hinata's nose, taunting him. 

Hinata released a shaky breath, nodding. "I-It's just a lot at once. I'll be fine." He replied quietly, trying not to draw the other's attention. 

He heard the driver and passenger doors slam shut, before the van sputtered to life. Noya whooped, grinning.

"Let's gooo! I _love_ road trips!"

-

"Are we there yet?" Noya asked, for the fifth time since they'd starting driving, only an hour ago. 

"No!" Everyone yelled, groaning. 

"How much longer?" Noya groaned, slumping. 

"For the _fifth_ time, Miyagi is about five hours away from Tokyo by car. We were about an hour out from Tokyo when we left an hour ago. So, we should have around three more hours until we reach Karasuno High." Kuroo sighed, rubbing his temples. 

Hinata sighed with him, exhausted at the thought of resisting his deadly urges for another three hours. He'd spent the past hour listening to the voice in his head screech about Kageyama, making him cranky and hungry. 

He rested his head on his knees, drumming his fingers against his legs impatiently. Sitting so close to everyone was driving him insane, hunger clawing at his insides angrily. 

"You okay over there, Hinata?" Oikawa drawled, giving the jittery boy a once over. 

"I'm _fine._ Hinata replied curtly, closing his eyes. 

The van quieted down, and Hinata could feel their stares burning into him. Ignoring them, he continued chewing at his lip. 

_EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT._

His head pounded, pulsing with pain. Hinata massaged his temples, growing agitated. 

He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down.

That was a _big_ mistake. 

The overwhelming smell of everyone's blood flooded him, making him dizzy. He felt his hands twitch, his entire body battling the urge to just give in already. 

_Just give in already, you know you want to._

_No! I won't hurt them! I won't become a monster!_

_You already have._

Hinata's heart raced, and he found himself tapping his foot anxiously. His entire body was practically vibrating, desperate to pounce on _anyone,_ he wasn't picky at this point. 

He forced himself to take quick, shallow breaths. He could control himself, he would be able to handle another few hours of temptation.

"Are we there, yet?" Noya's bored voice asked again, breaking him out of his thoughts. 

Kuroo groaned, opening his mouth to answer. 

"Noya, I swear to god, I will throw you out of this van if you ask that one more time." Hinata snapped, interrupting Kuroo. 

Noya opens his mouth to complain, before snapping it shut when Hinata flashed him a murderous look. 

Oikawa whistled. "Well, somebody's in a bad mood." He snickered, watching Hinata. 

"You have no idea." Hinata growled, scowling. 

"What's it like?" Oikawa prompted, resting his chin on his hand. 

"There's a constant voice in my head screaming at me to just give up and rip out your throat's and eat you. Tuning it out only results in a migraine, and I'm really fucking hungry." Hinata replied bluntly, his words laced with venom. 

"You mentioned a few days ago that it's harder around a certain person, who were you talking about?" Bokuto joined their conversation, leaning towards the two boys. 

"None of your business." Hinata frowned, crossing his arms. 

Several people raised their eyebrows, confused at the ginger's reluctance to answer. 

"Why are you keeping it a secret?" Akaashi questioned. 

Hinata pretended not to hear him, choosing to stare at the floor instead. He bit his lip again, trying to stay calm. 

_I don't want to make Kageyama uncomfortable around me, even more than he already is._

"How much longer?" Hinata sighed, looking at Kuroo. 

"Around another hour or so, I think." The black haired boy answered, gently stroking a sleeping Kenma's hair. 

_KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL KILL._

Hinata groaned, hitting his head on the wall behind him. 

-

What felt like an eternity later, the van spluttered to a halt. 

Hinata immediately sprung the door open, and scrambled out- face first into a zombie. 

Everyone screamed in surprise, and the zombie tried to claw it's way past Hinata. 

Hinata quickly shoved it backwards, before slamming the doors behind him. He wasted no time, instantly biting into it. 

He tore into it like an animal, eager to eat after being starving for hours. The blood dripped down his chin, staining yet another shirt of his. 

He sighed, tossing the half eaten corpse beside the van. Wiping his mouth off on his shirt, he opened the van doors again. 

"It's dead, you guys can come out now." He assured, licking the remaining blood off him lips. 

He'd normally be uneasy being so casual about eating in front of them, but he was too happy about finally getting a meal to care. 

Asahi and Yachi looked positively green, queasiness written all over them. 

Turning away from the others, Hinata stepped away from the van, glancing at his surroundings. 

They were most definitely _not_ at Karasuno, but they appeared to be only a few streets away. 

Hinata spotted an abandoned metal pipe on the ground, covered with scratches and dents. It had probably previously belonged to another survivor, who hadn't been fortunate enough to survive very long. 

He grinned, picking it up. 

It would be a good weapon for when he was fighting zombies with the others. He wasn't to keen on going feral with the others around him, in case he turned against them. The pipe would be easy enough to use, too. 

Hinata swung it around casually, walking towards the driver's door, where Daichi was climbing out of the van. 

"We're out of gas." Daichi explained. Hinata nodded, watching him go tell the others. 

Everyone eagerly climbed out of the van, stretching their legs. Kageyama and Iwaizumi eyed the corpse, but said nothing. 

"We're going to have to walk the rest of the way, but it should only take a few minutes." Sugawara informed, approaching the group. Everyone nodded, grabbing their things. Kageyama tossed Hinata's towards him, so he wouldn't have to go back in the van. 

"Alright, let's go!" Noya cheered, running ahead with Tanaka. 

The rest of the group followed them less enthusiastically, grumbling about being tired and hungry. 

A pang of guilt hit Hinata, when he realized nobody else has eaten yet, when he'd just had an entire meal to himself.

 _I doubt they would've wanted any of it, though._

He grinned, snickering to himself. 

Akaashi gave him a curious glance, but Hinata just waved his hand dismissively, knowing he probably wouldn't find the joke very funny. 

"So, Hinata, I had an idea." Kuroo mentioned, sidling next to the ginger. 

"What is it?" Hinata questioned, his curiosity peeked. 

"Once we read Karasuno, I wanted to 'borrow' a microscope from a science classroom. Maybe I could figure out why you didn't fully turn, from your DNA." Kuroo explained, side eyeing him. 

Hinata raised an eyebrow, pondering it. He _was_ pretty curious about it as well, but wasn't too fond of being Kuroo's guinea pig for his experiments. "Sure, but what makes you think you'll be able to figure it out?"

"My specialty _is_ in chemistry, but I also took a course on biology, which covered human cells and similar stuff. It was actually pretty interesting." Kuroo assured, grinning.

Hinata shrugged. "Alright, I don't mind. I'm curious as well." 

Kuroo nodded, before increasing his place to join Bokuto and Akaashi's conversation. 

Kenma fell into step with Hinata, a comfortable silence between the two. 

The group eventually reached Karasuno High, tentatively walking to the entry way. 

"Can you smell anything, Hinata?" Daichi asked, everyone turning to stare at Hinata, with him.

"I don't know. I can still smell the lingering scents of students from before the apocalypse. It's confusing me, but I don't think there are any survivors. There might be a few zombies around, but not that many." Hinata answered, trying to distinguish between the hundreds of different scents. 

"It makes sense that the school would be empty, our practice game was on a weekend, so everyone but us was at home, except maybe a few teachers or the principal." Sugawara reasoned, walking towards the doors. 

The group nodded, shuffling after him uneasily. 

After months of being away, Karasuno's volleyball team- minus a few members and adding a few guests- entered their school once again.


	6. Golden Blood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kuroo is finally getting the credit he deserves on how smart he is >:)
> 
> Any science stuff is directly from Google sorry about any inaccuracies

The inside of Karasuno was eerily silent.

The lights were off, giving the hallways a dark, ominous appearance. At the end of the hallway, a single room had it's light on, spilling out through the cracked open door. 

"Someone was here, and probably still is." Sugawara whispered, sending a chill up everyone's spines. 

"That makes sense, why else would the doors be unlocked?" Asahi murmured, uneasiness clear in his tone.

"That's the Vice Principal's office!" Noya exclaimed, earning a hand clamped over his mouth, muffling him. 

"Shh! He might still be here." Akaashi shushed, before slowly removing his hand from the shorter boy's mouth. Noya nodded bashfully, embarrassed. 

"I'll check it out. You guys wait here." Hinata ordered, sneaking towards the open office. The others nodded, nervous. 

Swallowing the anxiety lodged in his throat, Hinata peeked inside the office. 

A dead zombie, an old teacher of theirs, was laying on the ground, several gashes in it's throat. The Vice Principal had been shuffling around the room, until it spotted Hinata. 

It suddenly seemed to smell the others outside,  
and bolted towards the doorway. 

Hinata jumped in the way, earning a stab in the shoulder from the small pocket knife the Vice Principal had been holding, a knife Hinata had failed to notice earlier. 

"Ow, FUCK!" He cursed loudly, clutching at his wounded arm, while the zombie slipped past him. 

It ran straight to the others, ignoring the bleeding boy. 

Hinata forced himself to ignore the stinging in his shoulder, before grabbing his pipe and swinging at the running zombie. 

The pipe collided with the Vice Principal's head, knocking him over before he could reach the others. The zombie fell down, laying still. 

The toupee that it had been wearing was flung off, landing on top of Daichi's head with a soft thud. 

The group fell silent, before Sugawara's loud snort caused them all to break down giggling. 

"I-It happened...again!" Sugawara wheezed, shaking with laughter. 

Daichi was completely still, his face pale. "Not again.." he whispered, slowly placing the wig on the floor. 

Noya and Tanaka shrieked with laughter, clutching each other for support, while Kiyoko and Yachi giggled quietly.

Bokuto was bent over with laughter, slapping his hand on his knee repeatedly, while Akaashi smiled next to him.

Kuroo was cackling, holding his stomach. Even Kenma had a small, amused smile on his normally neutral face. 

Oikawa was crying with laughter, leaning on a giggling Iwaizumi. Even Kageyama was laughing, remembering the last incident with their Vice Principal, when Hinata had spiked him with a volleyball. 

Daichi was sighing, hiding his face in his hands while a grinning Asahi tried to comfort him, laughing quietly.

Hinata giggled, quickly stopping when the burning in his shoulder intensified. 

"Uh guys, I get that it's funny and all, but I just got stabbed." He interrupted, gripping his injured shoulder. 

"Oh shit, we should probably do something about that. I'll help you patch it up, let's go to the nurse's office." Sugawara offered, his laughter quickly morphing into concern. 

Everyone quickly walked to the nurse's office, Noya, Tanaka, and Oikawa still giggling. 

Sugawara and Hinata walked inside, and Hinata sat down on the thin cot set out for injured or sick students. 

Sugawara quickly located the first aid kit, pulling out a few items from within. "Can you take off your shirt, please? I need to look at your wound." He ordered calmly, wetting a small cloth. 

Hinata nodded, yanking off his bloodstained t-shirt. It rubbed across his cut painfully, making him wince. Sugawara walked up to him, looking over the stab wound. "Luckily the knife was small, so it isn't deep enough to worry about any permanent damage. It will need a few stitches, though." The silver haired boy said sympathetically. 

Hinata groaned. "Do you know how to give someone stitches?" 

"Yeah, I volunteered at a hospital a lot- before the world fell to shit. I wanted to be a doctor when I grew up, so I know a fair amount about injuries and such." Sugawara explained softly, dabbing the cut with the wet cloth.

"They let you give people stitches as a volunteer?" Hinata asked, tilting his head. Sugawara grinned. 

"Nope, I haven't actually done it myself before. I've seen it done several times though, so I know the steps." He confessed, grabbing an antibacterial spray and cleaning off a needle. 

Hinata gave him an uneasy smile, nervousness bubbling inside his stomach.

"We don't have anything to numb you with, so this is going to hurt, but please try to hold still." Sugawara warned, slipping thread through the needle, approaching the injured boy. 

Hinata nodded, unable to trust his voice. 

Sugawara placed the needle on the side of the cut, quickly poking it through the surrounding skin. 

Hinata _screamed._

He'd gotten stitches once before in his life, when he was younger. 

They were the result of a volleyball related accident during middle school, which had ended up with him slipping on the steep mountain pathway that led to his house. He'd rolled down a decent distance, getting a deep gash in his thigh, along with several scrapes and bruises. 

His doctor had numbed him first that time, plus the stitches were in a place with loose skin. 

_This_ time, the stitches were on his shoulder, with no extra skin to provide relief from the pain, and no anesthesia. 

Sugawara took pity on him, quickly finishing the job. "All done!" He said, tying a small knot at the end of the string, snipping off the extra thread with a small pair of scissors.

"Thank God." Hinata groaned, sliding off the cot, careful not to jerk his shoulder. 

Sugawara skipped out of the room, Hinata shuffling after him slowly. 

"He's all stitched up!" Sugawara chirped, earning nervous glances from everyone who had waited outside.

"Why was he screaming so much?" Bokuto ventured, clutching Akaashi's arm nervously. 

"He just got a few stitches, that's all." Sugawara dismissed, waving his hand. Bokuto tried to subtly step away from Sugawara, while Hinata groaned at the reminder.

"Never get injured with Suga around, he enjoys it way too much." Hinata warned, holding his throbbing arm. Sugawara flashed Hinata his signature bright smile. 

"Well, now that _that's_ taken care of, can I do my experiment now?" Kuroo asked impatiently. 

"Sure, what do you need from me." Hinata sighed, leading Kuroo and the others to their science classroom. 

They entered the classroom, and Kuroo made a beeline straight to the microscopes lined up on a shelf. "I need a blood sample from you and a zombie- we can use the Vice Principal for that- and I'll use my own blood to compare to them." He explained, while setting up a microscope.

Kuroo grabbed three small glass circles, lining them up on a table. He grabbed his knife, cutting his finger. 

Dripping a few drops of his blood on a circle, he placed a cover over it. "Come over here Hinata." He commanded, waving the boy over. 

The smell of fresh blood hit Hinata, making him bite his lip. 

_EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT._

Ignoring the screaming I'm his head, Hinata reluctantly walked over, holding out his hand. Kuroo made a small cut on his finger, letting a few drops land on another glass circle.

"Akaashi, can you go get some blood from the Vice Principal?" Kuroo asked, handing the last glass circle to the quiet boy. 

"Sure." Akaashi shrugged, leaving the classroom, Bokuto trailing after him. 

"Thanks!" Kuroo called after them, before turning towards his blood samples. He placed Hinata's under a microscope, examining it for a long moment, his face scrunched with concentration. "Holy _shit!_ "

"What is it?" Hinata prompted, leaning closer. 

Kuroo stepped back from the microscope, an excited expression on his face. "I think I know why you didn't turn. Well, I have a hypothesis at least, but I want to see the zombie blood before I tell you, just to be sure." 

Hinata tapped his foot impatiently, waiting for Akaashi to return. 

What felt like an eternity later, Akaashi and Bokuto walked back into the classroom. 

"We're back!" Bokuto exclaimed, while Akaashi carefully handed the blood sample to Kuroo. 

Kuroo quickly slid it under the microscope, quietly looking at it, before breaking into a grin. "I'm a freaking genius."

"What is it!?" Everyone asked urgently, making Kuroo grin wider. 

"Get ready for a quick biology lesson, kiddos. So, everyone has a blood type. These are determined by the proteins our blood cells contain, called antigens. Some people have some types of antigens, but not others, which is why there are different blood types. Hinata has literally none of the 61 possible types of antigens in the RH system, which makes his blood type RH-null, which is extremely rare-"

"Isn't that blood type called 'golden blood'? I heard it's super difficult for doctors to give people who have it blood transfusions, because it's so rare." Sugawara butted in, his eyes widening. 

"Bingo! Less than 50 people in the entire world have it, with Hinata being one of them. It's really dangerous to live with, because the blood transfusions are so difficult to come across. What's even more interesting, is that- based off of the zombie's blood sample- the virus seems to attack the RH antigens, which is the final stage that seems to make people lose their consciousness and control over themselves. Because Hinata didn't have any to attack, the virus couldn't fully develop, giving him this weird mutation." Kuroo finished, grinning proudly. 

Oikawa whistled. "For someone who looks so dumb, you're actually pretty smart." 

Iwaizumi slapped the brunette's head, making him pout.

"Thanks Iwaizumi." Kuroo smirked, as Oikawa stuck his tongue out at him. 

"So basically, about fifty people on Earth are half-immune to the virus?" Hinata questioned, confused. 

"If my observations are correct, yes." Kuroo answered, patting Hinata's head. 

"Cool!" Hinata shouted, smiling. 

_There were others like him!_

That night, everyone claimed a classroom to have as their own room. Kuroo had chosen the science classroom, obviously, to continue his research.

Hinata was sitting on the teacher's chair in an art classroom, spinning around in circles. 

Ever since he'd learned there were others like him, he couldn't stop thinking about it. 

He knew he'd probably never be able to meet any of them, since there were only a couple dozen of them, _if_ they hadn't died already during the apocalypse.

But still, just knowing he wasn't alone made him happy. 

He'd been nervous around his friends ever since he'd turned, with fair reason. He couldn't let his guard down too much, without risking their safety.

If he had friends like him, it would be so much easier.

_Would I really be able to leave them behind though, just because it would be easier?_

_No, I wouldn't._

Hinata knew he was telling the truth, he wouldn't leave behind his friends for anything.

They were worth fighting for.

-

The next morning, Hinata woke up hungry, with his stomach growling at him, angrily demanding food.

He dragged himself out of his makeshift bed, shuffling towards the cafeteria, where he knew the others would be eating their own breakfasts. 

"Good morning, Hinata." Akaashi greeted him, when the ginger walked into the large room. Akaashi was eating with all the others, Bokuto and Kuroo sitting beside him, discussing something animatedly. 

"Mornin'. I'm heading out for a bit, I'll be back." Hinata informed, yawning. Akaashi nodded, turning back to his meal.

Hinata left the room, walking down the hall, towards the entryway at the front of the school. He pushed his way through the double doors, stepping into the sunlight.

He could smell a zombie nearby, and decided to pursue it's scent.

Following the scent, he ended up walking past his old volleyball gym. The sound of a volleyball pounding the ground grabbed his attention, making him forget about the tempting smell he'd been following. 

Peeking in the window, Hinata saw Kageyama practicing serves, slamming the volleyball into the other side of the court. Kageyama didn't see Hinata watching, too focused on his task to notice. His brows were furrowed in concentration, while he retrieved the volleyball, getting ready to try again. 

Hinata watched fondly, a small smile tugging at his lips. 

He'd missed playing volleyball with Kageyama, hopefully he'd be able to do it again now that they had the gym back. 

After watching for a few minutes, Hinata dragged himself away, focusing on finding his breakfast.

He caught the scent again, following it away from the school. It led him towards a small convenience shop, similar to the one Coach Ukai had owned before turning. 

Hinata walked inside, immediately spotting the zombie shuffling around the shelves. It didn't seem to care about him, instead focusing on walking around mindlessly.

Hinata pounced on it, quickly killing it. 

As he chewed on the flesh, he thought about his blood type again. Did his family also have it? Was Natsu also half-immune? 

He'd asked Kuroo about it privately last night, who'd said it was possible. His blood type was a mutation, coming from a recessive gene that both of his parents must've had. It was a possibility that Natsu had golden blood too, but not very likely.

_I wonder if Natsu and my parents are safe._

The last time he'd seen his family was the day of the apocalypse, before he'd left for his practice game. Their last words to him were words of encouragement, telling him they were proud and that they loved him. 

He was glad he had that memory to hold on to, whether or not they had survived so far. 

Hinata wasn't stupid, he knew the survival rate in apocalypse was slim, especially when you had a child with you. Children slowed you down significantly, and often ended up drawing unwanted attention. 

_I hope they're safe out there, wherever they are._


	7. Workin Things Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Communication is key y'all. 
> 
> TW- death

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapters will be coming slower, I really didn't plan out enough in advance so I need to decide where to take the story. 
> 
> -i decided to change a ship so prepare for that pls & thx.
> 
> -pls don't give me shit for changing the ships, it's my story and I'm gonna write what makes me happy. I'm having a shitty day and I don't want hate comments on top of it <3

"I have the best idea ever." 

Everyone glanced at the sudden noise, giving Kuroo dubious looks. It had been a few days since they'd arrived at Karasuno, and they'd all been sitting in the volleyball gym, casually talking and tossing around a ball.

"I really doubt that, but what is it?" Oikawa questioned, smirking. He'd been laying down, tossing a volleyball in the air until Kuroo had spoken, quickly sitting up.

"I want to make some bombs." Kuroo answered breezily, grinning. Bokuto whooped, clearly thrilled with the idea. 

"I'm sorry?" Akaashi did a double take. "You want to _what_ now?" 

"You heard me. I can't make anything super big or deadly, but I know how to make a Molotov Cocktail, and I'm sure the ingredients are around. They won't be able to seriously damage a bunch of zombies, but they'd be good for distractions and hurting actual people, especially if we run into any hostile survivors." Kuroo explained, waving his hands excitedly.

"That's so cool." Noya breathed, eyes wide in awe. 

"Yeah." Hinata echoed, excited about the idea.

"And just how the hell are you going to do that? Our science classroom doesn't exactly have any deadly chemicals or bomb kits." Sugawara asked wryly, uneasy with the idea. 

"Yeah, but I know how to use some common items and make some reactions with them. I'm sure I can find what I need, I know they keep gasoline and motor oil for the buses. I can work something out." Kuroo replied smugly, earning an eye roll from Kenma. 

"Go for it I guess, but you better not catch our school on fire." Daichi relented, sighing. 

"Perfect! Bokuto, you can help me." Kuroo grinned. 

"NO!" Everyone but Kuroo and Bokuto yelled in harmony, multiple faces painted with horror at the thought.

"Can I watch?" Noya begged, eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Sure, I'll teach you how to make some!" Kuroo agreed, turning towards the smaller boy.

"Hell yeah! What goes into them?" He questioned, tilting his head. 

"For a Molotov Cocktail, you just put a mixture of gasoline and motor oil in a glass bottle. When that's done, you close the bottle and tie a rag around the outside. Just pour some of the oil and gas on the rag and light it, and throw the bottle at the target. Once the bottle breaks, it makes a fiery explosion." Kuroo informed, looking pleased with himself. 

"That _could_ actually be really helpful, but it sounds really dangerous." Iwaizumi murmured, thinking out loud.

"Uh, maybe this isn't the best idea? It really doesn't sound safe.." Asahi stuttered, his sentence trailing off, uncertain.

"Y-yeah. Not that I don't trust you guys, but it seems a little too dangerous." Yachi agreed nervously, biting her lip.

"It does sound a bit worrisome, but I think Kuroo knows what he's doing." Kiyoko commented calmly. This seemed to soothe Yachi, who nodded anxiously. 

"I think it sounds awesome! I'll help you guys find the ingredients!" Tanaka shouted, grinning. Hinata watched as Tanaka, Kuroo, Noya, and Bokuto all leapt up, running towards the buses outside. Akaashi sighed, before reluctantly following them. 

"Hopefully Akaashi will be able to keep them all alive." Oikawa snickered, watching the quiet boy step outside.

"Kuroo is actually a lot smarter than I thought he was. I'm really glad we have him around." Sugawara said, sounding slightly surprised.

"He's a genius when it comes to this stuff. Don't tell him I said that, though." Kenma piped up quietly, grabbing everyone's attention.

"Yeah, and he figured out what happened with my turning really fast, too." Hinata agreed, nodding his head.

"How is someone with such stupid hair so smart?" Oikawa wondered, earning a smack from Iwaizumi.

After the bomb-making group left, everyone slowly trickled out of the gym, returning to their own rooms. 

-

"Can we talk?" 

Hinata glanced up at the sound of the voice, locking eyes with the boy standing in the doorway to his room, previously their art classroom at Karasuno. 

"Sure, come on in." Hinata invited gently, flashing an uneasy smile. The boy walked towards Hinata, sitting besides him on the ground. Their backs were pressed against an old teacher's desk, shoulders barely brushing. 

"I'm sorry I've been avoiding you, I just didn't know how to act around you anymore. I thought it might be easier for you if I distanced myself, but I was just being a coward." Kageyama apologized quietly, fidgeting with his fingers nervously. 

"It's okay, I get that it's difficult to be around me. It's only natural, considering I've been turned. I promise I'm not going to hurt you, though." Hinata assured, rubbing his neck uncomfortably. "I'll understand if you want to break up with me, because we aren't able to kiss anymore..or do anything beyond that, either." He said awkwardly, glancing at his boyfriend. 

Hinata knew he'd miss kissing his boyfriend, but he wasn't really upset about not being able to take it further with him. He'd never been fond of the idea, not understanding why it was supposed to be a big deal. Hinata always preferred cuddles and other ways of showing attention over intimacy, but hadn't told Kageyama, scared of how he'd react. 

Besides, Hinata might end up attacking Kageyama if they got too touchy, it was hard enough just talking to him. 

"I don't want to break up with you. Besides, I'm asexual, so I don't care about not being able to sleep with you, sorry if that sounds rude." Kageyama assured, looking embarrassed from his revelation.

Hinata let out a sigh of relief. "It's fine, I feel the same. I didn't tell you before, because I was worried you'd be upset." Hinata confessed, squirming nervously. 

"You know I wouldn't ever pressure you, right? I love you for _you,_ not for your body. I would never leave you over something insignificant like that." Kageyama said softly, gently patting Hinata's head. 

"You still love me? Even though I'm a monster?" Hinata asked, his voice breaking. Tears welled up in his eyes, which prompted Kageyama to give him a tentative hug. 

In the back of Hinata's mind, worry twinged at the close contact, scared he'd lose control of himself. But food was the last thing on his mind right now, the worry outweighed easily by the enormous amount of relief he felt. 

"Of course I love you, and you aren't a monster." Kageyama stated matter-of-factly. Hinata clung to his shirt, a sob slipping out of his throat. 

"Yes I am, I'm disgusting! I literally eat other people, and _enjoy_ it!" Hinata exclaimed, his anger and frustration with himself pouring out with a broken cry. 

"You eat _zombies,_ not people. You aren't a monster, you just have a different method of surviving. There's nothing wrong with you." Kageyama whispered, worry seeping into his tone. 

"Zombies _are_ people! They just have a sickness that controls them, it's not their fault!" Hinata defended, crying into his boyfriend's shoulder. 

"And it isn't your fault either, you're just trying to survive. That's completely normal, everyone understands that." Kageyama insisted, stroking the ginger's hair. 

Hinata nodded his head, desperately trying to convince himself that Kageyama was right. 

"I love you." He said quietly, wiping his eyes. 

"I love you too." Kageyama gave him a small smile, continuing to move his fingers through Hinata's soft hair. 

Hinata gave a small sigh, leaning his back against Kageyama's chest, sitting in between his legs. His head was currently screaming at him, angry that he hadn't taken the opportunity to bite Kageyama, while they were alone and he was vulnerable. 

Ignoring the pounding in his skull, Hinata stayed silent, resting comfortably against his boyfriend. A comfortable silence stretched between them, both lost in their own trains of thought.

Hinata was truly grateful to have found someone like Kageyama. Even though they bickered daily, they knew when to be serious and patient with each other. 

_I'm really lucky to have him._

-

Several hours later, Hinata woke up, having fallen asleep leaning against his boyfriend. 

He stood up slowly, careful not to wake up Kageyama. The dark haired boy murmured in his sleep, but didn't wake up. Padding to the doorway, he stepped outside, quietly shutting the door behind him. 

It was around evening, and Hinata was hungry. His stomach growled angrily, painfully reminding him that he hadn't eaten yet today. 

"Hinata! There you are. Me, Iwaizumi, and Akaashi are going on a supply run, want to join us?" Daichi's voice called, as the older boy jogged up to him. 

"Sure, are we leaving right now?" Hinata shrugged, following Daichi towards the others. Daichi nodded, handing him a backpack. 

"Bye, babe. Stay safe okay? I love you." Sugawara said softly, giving Daichi a quick kiss. Daichi smiled at him, ruffling his hair. 

"I love you too, Suga." He grinned, grabbing his own backpack. 

"Be careful, Akaashi! I love you!" Bokuto shouted, giving his boyfriend a bone crushing hug. Akaashi smiled gently, murmuring quietly with him. 

"Stay safe Iwa-chan! Don't be an idiot and get yourself killed!" Oikawa teased, grinning at his boyfriend. Iwaizumi rolled his eyes, ruffling the brunette's hair. 

"Yeah, love you too, Shittykawa." Iwaizumi replied, lips twitching in a small smile. Oikawa smirked at him, whispering something in his ear, which promptly made Iwaizumi blush. 

Giving his boyfriend a light smack on the head, Iwaizumi walked over towards the rest of the group. 

"You guys ready?" He asked, hoisting his bag over his shoulder. Daichi shot an amused smile, but nodded anyways. 

Hinata understood why everyone was so anxious about them leaving, Karasuno had a lot more people than the last place they had stayed at, and would definitely have a lot more zombies than they'd dealt with previously. 

The group left the school silently, huddled close together. Everyone was nervously eyeing the buildings surrounding them as they walked, waiting for a zombie to pop out of nowhere. 

The swirl of hundreds of stale, fading scents surrounded Hinata, reminding him of how busy the city was before everything fell apart. He could smell a few vibrant smells of zombies around, and a few newer scents of most likely recently deceased humans. 

Hinata couldn't pinpoint any of the zombies, because of how mixed in they were with the other several smells that grabbed at his attention. He knew they had to be nearby, which made him just as uneasy as everyone else. 

"Why are we even out here? Don't we have food back at the school?" He whispered, shooting a quick glance at Daichi.

"We need soap for the showers there, and clothes. Everyone's clothes are blood stained and winter is coming soon." Daichi whispered back, knuckles white from his hand tightly clutching the crowbar he'd found weeks prior.

Hinata nodded mutely in response, looking around for a clothes store. He knew they'd most likely end up at the nearby mall, but wanted to avoid it, if possible. There was no doubt that it would have zombies, and possibly hostile survivors. 

They ended up at the mall anyways, and Hinata couldn't ignore the dread pooling in his stomach. 

"This is a bad idea. I have a really bad feeling about this." He murmured, tightening his hold on his pipe. 

"Can you smell anything?" Iwaizumi asked quietly, eyes locked on the entrance of the mall. 

"There's too much! I can smell _hundreds_ of scents, each one slightly more or less faded than the other, it's too confusing!" Hinata whisper-shouted, frustrated and agitated from his rapidly increasing paranoia. 

His frustration only made his hunger grow, sharp pains stabbing in his stomach. 

_EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT!_

Hinata groaned, forcing himself to ignore the shrieking inside his head. 

"Should we try going inside?" Akaashi asked, eyeing the double doors of the mall, only a few feet away from their small group. 

"I'll go first, Hinata, you guard from behind us, okay?" Daichi suggested, carefully approaching the doors. 

Daichi crept up to the door, slowly pulling it open. As he stepped into the open doorway, Hinata noticed a string attached to the inside of the door, pulled taunt. His heart hammered inside his chest, as realization sunk in his stomach like a stone. 

"It's a trap, _run!"_ Hinata screamed, trying to warn Daichi. 

Daichi looked at him in alarm, right before a sleek, hunting arrow lodged itself in his stomach. 

" _Oh._ " Daichi said quietly, before slumping to the ground.


	8. A Selfless Sacrifice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> :'(
> 
> Sorry this chapter is shorter than usual, I didn't know how to continue any further, hope u enjoy anyways <3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soo I'm an indecisive h0e, and changed my mind about the ship thing, they WILL be staying the same! Sorry about that, just ignore my notes on the last chapter.

"Daichi!" Hinata screamed, terror clouding his thoughts.

Daichi _couldn't_ die!

"G-Get out of here." Daichi croaked, holding his rapidly bleeding stomach. The blood was pooling around him on the ground, staining his clothes scarlet. 

_EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT!_

The blood sent Hinata's mind into a frenzy, adrenaline rushing through his system, making him slightly dizzy. He felt himself twitch, desperate to eat. 

The sound of rapidly approaching footsteps shook him out of his thoughts, making him glance at the door in panic. 

"They're coming! They're going to kill us all!" Hinata screeched, glancing at Iwaizumi and Akaashi. 

Panic, frustration, anger, sadness, and acception flickered across Iwaizumi's face in a mere second, before he shoved his backpack into Akaashi's hands. He quickly ran to the doors, slamming them shut. Iwaizumi leaned against them, forcing them to stay closed, even as the people behind them pushed against them, trying to get outside. 

"RUN! I'll hold them back as long as I can, but you guys _need_ to escape!" Iwaizumi yelled, muscles straining against the pressure. 

"We can't leave you two!" Hinata cried, trembling. 

"Tell Tooru I love him, and that I'm sorry." Iwaizumi instructed Akaashi, ignoring Hinata's outburst. Akaashi nodded solemnly, giving him a sad look of appreciation. 

Daichi coughed on the ground, groaning in pain. He kept a brave face, but everyone could see the terror flickering in his eyes. "Tell Suga I love him, too. Now _go!_ " 

Akaashi grabbed Hinata's arm, yanking him away from the others, forcing him into a sprint. Hinata's feet pounded against the ground, tears streaming down his cheeks. 

He glanced over his shoulder right before they rounded a corner, in time to see the doors burst open behind Iwaizumi, sending him crashing onto the ground. A couple adult men ran outside, with one immediately pressing a knife at Iwaizumi's throat, who had been trying to protect Daichi. 

Hinata tore his eyes away from the scene, forcing himself to continue running. 

A few moments later, he heard Iwaizumi's gut-wrenching scream, a sound that would haunt his dreams for years to come. 

Akaashi closed his eyes tightly for a brief second, before opening them. His face was set with grim determination, desperate to make sure that Daichi and Iwaizumi's fates weren't in vain. 

The two sprinted silently for twenty minutes, until they arrived back at the school. Once they'd reached safety, they allowed themselves to slow to a stop, breathing sporadically. 

They shared a glance filled with pain, before walking towards the gym, which had become a common hang out spot since they'd arrived at Karasuno. 

Stepping inside, Hinata forced himself to take a deep breath, wiping at the tears that still hadn't stopped falling since earlier. 

"Are you okay, Hinata?" Kageyama asked, who'd been sitting down with the rest of the group. He quickly scrambled off the floor, wrapping him in a hug. 

"Where's Daichi and Iwaizumi?" Sugawara piped up, giving Akaashi and Hinata a confused look. 

Hinata broke into a loud sob, and Akaashi remained silent, staring at the ground, a slight tremor in his shoulders. 

"Where's Daichi?" Sugawara repeated, panic seeping into his tone. 

"And where is Iwa-chan?" Oikawa echoed, fear dancing in his eyes. The rest of the group remained silent, dreading their answer. 

"We ran into a trap set by hostile survivors. Daichi accidentally triggered it, and got shot by an arrow. Iwaizumi stayed behind to hold them back, so we could escape. We didn't want to leave him, but he yelled at us to run." Akaashi answers quietly, not meeting their eyes. 

"You left Hajime there to _die?_ " Oikawa asked, venom and accusation lacing his words. 

The sentence stung, because Hinata found himself agreeing with the brunette. "We didn't want to, but he was determined to save us." Hinata whispered, voice cracking. 

Sugawara's face fell completely, but he remained silent, staring at the ground, trying to process the information.

_"You left Hajime to die!"_ Oikawa screamed, leaping towards the two survivors. Kuroo quickly caught him, holding him back. "How _could_ you!? I _hate_ you!" He screeched, clawing at Kuroo's firm grip. 

"It wasn't their choice. Don't let his death be in vain." Kuroo murmured, tears swimming in his eyes. 

Bokuto ran to Akaashi, hugging him tightly. "I could've lost you." He whispered, clutching onto his boyfriend, sobbing into his shoulder. Akaashi's cold demeanor shattered, and he wailed into Bokuto's shoulder, clinging onto him. 

"I'm so glad you're safe." Kageyama whispered into Hinata's ear, who simply continued bawling. 

Sugawara stood up quickly, grabbing everyone's attention. He walked out of the gym silently, slamming the doors behind him. 

Outside, a muffled scream of pure anguish and loss pierced through the doors, making everyone fall silent, tears streaming down their faces. 

Asahi and Kiyoko quietly slipped outside, trying to comfort their heartbroken friend. 

Oikawa let out a muffled scream against Kuroo's shoulder, who had wrapped his arms around the grieving boy. He continued to wail loudly, heart-wrenching pain filling his sobs.

Noya and Tanaka hugged each other, crying loudly. Kenma sat silently, eyes solemn with sadness, awkwardly comforting a crying Yachi. 

Hinata slumped to the floor, still wrapped in Kageyama's desperate embrace. The two lovers mourned together, heart broken from the loss of their friends. 

" _FUCK!_ " Oikawa yelled in frustration, shoving Kuroo away from him. He stormed out of the gym, wiping away the tears, which were quickly replaced with new ones. Slamming the doors, the others heard him shout a new string of curses as he left, leaving to grieve alone in his room. 

Hinata decided to follow him, not wanting to leave his friend alone at a time like this. He stood up slowly, still crying. Kageyama let him go, understanding.

He followed the brunette to his room, entering quietly. 

Oikawa glanced at him, before breaking into another loud sob. "I told him not to do anything stupid!" He cried, voice breaking. Hinata gave him a look of sorrow, giving the grieving boy a gentle hug. 

"He said to tell you he loves you, and that he's sorry." Hinata whispered, tears blurring his vision. 

Oikawa only wailed in response, hiccuping with sobs. 

Hinata stayed quiet, continuing to comfort his friend. Oikawa clung to him for support, too heartbroken to be embarrassed. They sat together, Oikawa's cries being the only sounds in the otherwise silent room, a heavy atmosphere surrounding them. 

Eventually, Oikawa cried himself to sleep, exhaustion winning over. His sobs turned into sniffles, before becoming silent. He slumped against Hinata, who carefully detangled himself from the sleeping boy.

Hinata stood up slowly, before padding out of the room, shooting one last concerned look at his friend. 

He bit his lip, forcing himself not to hold back his tears. Hinata decided to check up on Suga, worried about his friend. 

He found Sugawara sitting alone, an empty look on his face. Asahi and Kiyoko sat nearby, eyeing him carefully. Sugawara had his arms wrapped around his knees, resting his head on top of them. He stared at the ground, ignoring everyone around him. 

Hinata approached him quietly, sitting next to him. 

"I'm sorry." He murmured, looking at his hands. Sugawara didn't respond, continuing to ignore the world surrounding him. "He told me to tell you that he loves you." Hinata whispered, choking on a small sob. 

Sugawara stayed silent, but closed his eyes tightly. He quickly shifted, resting his forehead on his knees, hiding his face from the others. Hinata spotted the slight tremor running through the silver haired boy's shoulders, and laid a tentative arm around him. 

Guilt clawed at Hinata's heart, forcing new tears to slip out of his eyes, dripping onto his lap. 

_If only I was able to warn Daichi in time._

-

A few hours later, everyone but Hinata was asleep, exhausted from their grief.

Hinata quietly walked outside, leaving the school. His stomach was aching from hunger, and he knew he had to eat soon, even though he felt sick from guilt. 

He knew he should be grateful for Daichi and Iwaizumi's sacrifices, but the guilt clawed at him anyways. He felt awful for leaving them behind, but he couldn't erase the past. Hinata needed to survive, to make sure their deaths weren't for nothing. 

Hinata continued silently, searching for the scents of any zombies or survivors. He kept a watchful eye out, wary of his surroundings. The incident earlier had seriously shook his confidence in himself, making him anxious to be alone.

Swallowing his nervousness, he inhaled deeply. A familiar scent filled his senses, the smell of another zombie. Hinata followed the scent, trying to pinpoint it's location. 

He found the zombie shuffling around a nearby street, walking mindlessly, waiting for it's next unfortunate victim. 

Hinata sprinted towards it, letting himself go. He ran his tongue over his sharp incisors quickly, before grabbing the zombie's arm. It was a male, and appeared to be middle-aged. It's clothes were dirty and scuffed, blood stains spread all over them. 

Hinata's mind went into a familiar frenzy, ecstatic about finally getting a meal. He hadn't eaten all day, and was thrilled that he was finally going to be able to soothe the gnawing in his stomach. 

_EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT!_

Hinata gave into the screeching in his head, sinking his teeth into the unlucky zombie's throat, tearing away at it's flesh. It dropped to the ground immediately, a protest gurgled out if it's mouth, abstracted by the blood gushing out of it's throat. 

It died quickly, and Hinata wasted no time, instantly ripping into the corpse. He stripped off some of it's flesh, ravishing the meat. Hinata knew he was acting feral, but he was _starving_ , and couldn't find the energy to care. 

After eating his fill, he decided to make his way back to the school. 

Taking a deep breath, he let the night's cold air fill his lungs, releasing it slowly. Glancing at the sky, he thought about Daichi and Iwaizumi. 

He hadn't been particularly close to Iwaizumi, but had always respected and looked up to the older boy, admiring his strength and patience with those around him. His death stung, a painful reminder of how selfless he was. 

Hinata _had_ been close with Daichi, and let himself remember all the memories he had with him. All the volleyball games they'd played together, and all the times Daichi had kept everyone calm during the apocalypse, staying focused in even the most dire situations. 

Hinata remembered the time Daichi had been injured during a volleyball game, in a nasty collision with Tanaka. The team had teased Daichi for weeks after that, pretending he'd died, and offhandedly mentioning how much they missed him in conversations, pretending he wasn't there. 

Hinata laughed bitterly, the humour in that story was gone now, replaced by grief and sorrow. He missed Daichi already, wishing he could ask him for advice on how to help the others heal, and eventually move on from their losses.

_I hope you're at peace now, thank you two for saving us._


	9. Piles Of Grief

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW- dead people/dead children
> 
> Sorry y'all ;(

_Two months later_

"I think we should leave Karasuno." 

Hinata glanced up at the voice, surprised to see it had been Nishinoya who'd spoken. Everyone else around them seemed shocked, too.

"Why?" Kageyama questioned, frowning. 

"I agree with Noya, we're too close to the other survivors. We've been lucky enough to not run into them again so far, but it's still too risky." Kuroo reasoned, standing by Noya. 

"You want to leave?" Sugawara asked quietly, grabbing everyone's attention. They were all surprised that he'd spoken up, as he went almost completely mute after Daichi's death. A part of the boy had died along with his lover and life-long best friend, making him become quiet and reserved. 

"I think it would be the smartest decision, we need to put everyone's safety first." Kuroo declared, giving Suga an apologetic look.

Oikawa opened his mouth to snap something at him, but closed it before speaking, a scowl on his face.

"We can have a road trip! Let's steal a bus!" Bokuto cheered, hugging Akaashi. The quiet boy gave him a soft smile, hugging him back.

"We can relocate to another school. We can go back to Nekoma or maybe Aoba Johsai. Nekoma is far enough that we wouldn't have to worry about the survivors." Kuroo suggested, mulling it over. 

"Nekoma is in Tokyo though, so there would probably be a lot more zombies around." Kenma said quietly, earning several nods. 

"True, but there's also more stores and places to get supplies. We just need to be careful." Tanaka reasoned.

"Let's vote on it." Kiyoko suggested, with everyone nodding in agreement. 

"Everyone who wants to head to Nekoma, stand by me." Kuroo instructed. Everyone but Sugawara, Oikawa, and Hinata went to stand by him. 

"Hinata? Why don't you want to leave?" Kageyama asked, furrowing his brows. 

"It feels..wrong. I don't want to leave Daichi and Iwaizumi behind." Hinata answered meekly, still feeling guilty for his role in their deaths. 

Oikawa scowled yet again, but Sugawara stayed motionless, fists clenched tightly by his sides. 

"They would understand, you know that. Staying here and getting us all killed wouldn't bring them back." Akaashi said softly, sorrow etched into his perfect features. 

"When are we leaving?" Oikawa asked curtly, crossing his arms. 

"We should try to leave within the next day or so. We need to gather whatever supplies we have and load them into a bus. Who, besides me, knows how to drive?" Kuroo responded, glancing at Sugawara. 

"Asahi, Kiyoko, and I all know how to." Suga answered, looking uneasy. 

"Let's try to leave tomorrow morning." Noya declared, a small smile forming on his face. Everyone nodded, before leaving to their own rooms. Sugawara and Oikawa stuck close together, having bonded over their grief. 

Hinata watched them both enter Oikawa's room and shut the door, ignoring the others. He felt extremely guilty, forcing them to leave their lovers behind, even though they were already dead. 

Breaking away from his thoughts, Hinata walked into his room. Gathering his stuff, he put it in a small pile next to the door. Hinata padded over to his makeshift bed, slipping inside the tattered sleeping bag. 

Tomorrow, he would leave behind his home once again.

-

Hinata woke up early, quite an unusual feat for the ginger ever since he'd turned. 

He slid out of the sleeping bag, yawning. He quickly stretched, before walking towards his pile of supplies he'd gathered since the beginning of the apocalypse, grabbing his stuff and heading outside. 

Akaashi and Kuroo stood outside, talking with low voices, gesturing towards the large yellow bus in front of them. 

Hinata walked past them, giving a quick nod in greeting before boarding the bus. He noticed Oikawa and Sugawara sitting next to each other, a quiet conversation between them. He gave them their privacy, quickly tossing his stuff into the small pile in the back, stuffing a small plastic grocery bag inside his pocket as he did so. 

Exiting the bus, Hinata decided he should try to find something to eat before they leave. He didn't want to be hungry while trapped inside with all the others for hours.

Hinata gave a quick wave to Kuroo and Akaashi, before heading away from the school. He decided to head towards his house, a place he hadn't ventured to yet. 

As he walked, he stayed alert for any scents and sounds around him. If he happened to run into any survivors, things would get way too complicated. 

Luckily, Hinata managed to find a zombie relatively easily. It was wandering around the road to his house, waiting for an unfortunate survivor to stumble in it's path. Hinata ran up to it, ripping into it. 

He tore it's throat with his sharp teeth, tearing into it's sweet flesh. The blood spurted onto his face, making him swipe his tongue across his lips. It was warm and sticky, tasting pleasantly tangy. Hinata ate as neatly as he could, trying not to ruin yet another outfit from blood. 

Once he was satisfied, he pulled out the plastic bag he'd been holding onto. Hinata grabbed the zombie's arm, tearing a few strips of it's flesh off, storing them in the bag. It was his own _special_ snack, in case he got too hungry on the bus. 

Pushing the zombie aside, Hinata stood up slowly, shoving the bag back into a loose jacket pocket. He was debating heading towards his house before leaving, just to check if his family was still alive. 

_I'll just have a quick little peek._

Following the road he was on, Hinata reached his house. It looked relatively normal, aside from the smashed in windows and the bloodstained concrete leading towards the front door. 

He walked up to the door, testing if it was unlocked. It was, and he stepped inside, closing it behind him. 

"Mom? Dad? Natsu?" Hinata called out softly, praying for a reply. He didn't receive one, and decided to continue looking around. He walked into the kitchen, noticing the ransacked shelves and drawers. 

There was stuff everywhere, having been torn through by several survivors. Silverware was hazardously thrown on the floor, knives absent. The cabinets had been thrown open, revealing the empty shelves inside. His family was nowhere to be found. 

Hinata headed up the stairs next, creeping towards his parent's room. Creaking the door open, he stuck his head inside warily. 

His face fell instantly, as he spotted his family dead on the floor. His father had his arms wrapped around his mother and Natsu, having fallen slack after he died. His mother was wrapped around Natsu, who's bloody scalp was peeking out between her arms. 

Hinata felt himself wilt, before vomit sprung up into his throat. He threw up at the sight of them, clutching his stomach tightly. Pain surged throughout him, physical and mental. 

It wasn't bad enough that they were dead, it was sight of the bullet holes on their foreheads that broke him. 

They had been killed by _survivors,_ their deaths weren't necessary, yet someone had mercilessly slaughtered them.

They hadn't even spared Natsu, who was only a child.

The people who killed them were the real monsters, not the zombies they'd been hiding from. 

Hinata left the room, anger and pain swirling around inside him. He fled the house, forcing himself not to look back. He couldn't. This was worse than turning, than losing his friends. They were his family, and had been innocent. Their deaths were for nothing, just killed to suit someone's greed. 

He stumbled his way back towards the school, trying to push his emotions down, so he wouldn't get aggressive with the others. Tears sprung into his eyes, but he stopped them from falling. Crying wouldn't bring his family back. 

Hinata managed to put on a neutral face, hiding the anger that was so desperately clawing at his insides. He wanted to rip someone apart, make them suffer like he was. If he ever found out who had killed his family, he was going to get revenge. No matter what it took. 

As he reached the school, he found everyone waiting for him, already on the bus. They'd all had their own seats, talking amongst themselves. Asahi was sitting in the driver's seat, and opened the doors to buy to let Hinata inside. Hinata stomped inside, ignoring the curious looks the others gave him. 

Oikawa and Sugawara were still sitting in the back, peering at him. Akaashi and Bokuto sat on opposite ailes, just a few seats in front of them. Kuroo was sitting in front of Bokuto, leaning over to talk to him. Kenma was sitting in front of Akaashi, curled into himself, sleeping. Tanaka was slouching a couple seats away, talking to Yachi and Kiyoko, who were  
across the aisle from him. Noya was right behind the driver's seat, chattering to Asahi. Kageyama was in front of Tanaka, waiting for Hinata. There was an empty seat across from him, most likely reserved for the ginger.

Ignoring it, Hinata sat by himself, staring out the window. He felt several of the others watching him, including a hurt Kageyama. A bit of guilt twinged inside him, but was quickly squashed by the grief for his family. He was still slightly shaking from anger, but the sadness from his loss was finally hitting him. 

Trembling slightly, he clenched his fists in his hands, nails digging into his skin. 

He heard the bus grumble to life, vibrating underneath him. Asahi slowly maneuvered them out of the parking lot, heading towards the streets surrounding their school. They lumbered their way away from Karasuno, and Hinata found himself glancing behind them, seeing his school one last time. 

Hinata knew he'd probably never come back, and couldn't help the sadness that ached with the thought. He'd miss it here, back when life was simpler. 

As Karasuno became smaller and smaller in the distance, Hinata forced himself to look away. He couldn't dwell on the past too much, or he'd sink into a permanent state of despair, and wouldn't be able to help protect his friends. 

He couldn't lose anyone else.

-

After driving for a bit, they ended up passing the mall where Daichi and Iwaizumi died. Everyone held their breath, glancing warily at Sugawara and Oikawa, worried about their reactions. 

Sugawara stared at the ground firmly, clenching his fists. He didn't say anything, but everyone understood that he didn't want useless condolences. 

Meanwhile, Oikawa watched the mall, carefully looking for signs of movement. His composure was tense, and his expression was one of anger. 

Hinata looked at the mall sadly, feeling the loss of his friends yet again. Daichi and Iwaizumi had been incredibly important to their group, always able to stay calm and think clearly, even in dire situations with unbelievable pressure riding on them. Now that they were gone, Kuroo and Akaashi had taken charge, trying to hold the group together. It was difficult, but they'd managed.

Asahi sped up, eager to get away from the mall. He'd also lost his best friend like Suga had, and hadn't had enough time to grieve properly, spending his time comforting those around him. Hinata was glad he had Noya to depend on, who had always been there to remind Asahi to take some time for himself. 

As the mall disappeared behind them, everyone gave a collective sigh of relief. Nobody wanted to think about it anymore, and were glad it was behind them.

The others started murmuring amongst each other again, carefully shooting looks at Hinata. 

Hinata forced himself not to roll his eyes, irritated at them. Why couldn't they mind their business for once? He just wanted to be alone for a while. His emotions were rapidly changing between sad and angry, giving him a mental whiplash. 

A thump from someone sitting next to him snapped Hinata away from his thoughts, and he turned to see Oikawa next to him. 

"Oikawa? Can I help you with something?" Hinata asked, perplexed. He wouldn't have been surprised if it was anyone else, but Oikawa of all people approaching him? Oikawa who was still bitter about Iwaizumi's death?

"What's got you frowning so hard? Everyone's whispering about you and it's pissing me off." Oikawa replied bluntly, crossing his arms.

"Just tell them to shut up, then." Hinata shot, turning away from the brunette. 

"You didn't answer my question." 

"I went to my house this morning, and found my entire family- including my seven year old sister - dead. Killed by other survivors, not even zombies." Hinata snapped, getting extremely irritated with Oikawa's rudeness. 

"Oh. Okay." Oikawa responded after a beat of silence. His voice was a bit sheepish now. 

"Okay? That's it?" Hinata questioned, confused. Oikawa nodded. 

"I'm assuming you want space, so I'll give it to you. When you want someone to comfort you, you can come to me if you want, but I won't force you." 

"Thank you." Hinata thanked, somewhat surprised at the older boy's maturity.

"I won't tell the others what you told me, if you want." Oikawa assured, glancing at their companions, who'd been blatantly staring at them. 

"You can tell Suga, I know you've gotten close and probably won't want to lie, but I'd rather you not tell anyone else." Hinata decided, turning to stare out the window again. 

"Okay, I'll keep your secret." Oikawa informed, giving him a quick pat on his shoulder, before walking away. 

Hinata didn't answer, quietly watching the scenery outside the bus. 

This was going to be an _exhausting_ road trip.


	10. Cruisin' for a Bruisin'

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little bit of humour & happiness to hopefully earn y'all's forgiveness from the last chapter <3
> 
> Basically a filler chapter, sorry ab that, but it's less intense and sad than the others so hopefully that makes up for it ;)

"42 bottles of beer on the wall, 42 bottles of beer. Take one down and pass it around, 41 bottles of beer on the wall.." 

Hinata groaned, desperately wanting to bash his head into the bus window. Bokuto and Kuroo had been singing their stupid "road trip song" for at least an hour, driving everyone else insane. 

"Oh my _god_ Kuroo, shut the fuck up!" Kenma suddenly shouted, stunning everyone inside the bus. Oikawa barked out a laugh, covering his mouth. 

"Sorry Ken, did I wake you up from your nap?" Kuroo asked sheepishly, a crooked grin revealing how undeterred he was from the outburst. 

Kenma nodded tiredly, closing his eyes once again. Leaning against his boyfriend's torso, he tried to fall asleep again. Kenma hated road trips, and usually managed to spend the entire time asleep. 

"So does this mean we have to stop singing?" Bokuto frowned, looking confused. Kuroo nodded, an exaggerated pout on his face. "Can't we just sing a new song?"

Akaashi rubbed his temples, sighing quietly. He leaned towards Bokuto, whispering something in his ear. Bokuto instantly perked up, grabbing his hand eagerly. "Really? You mean it, 'Kaashi?"

Akaashi nodded, and stood up, leading his boyfriend to a secluded seat in the back, right next to their piles of supplies. Bokuto sat down first, and Akaashi promptly settled onto his lap, pulling him into a gentle kiss. As the two quickly began to make out, Hinata turned away, giving them some privacy.

Kuroo whooped, earning a pinch in the stomach from Kenma, who'd given up on falling back asleep. 

"Ow! _Somebody_ seems to be lacking in serotonin." Kuroo pouted, while Kenma rolled his eyes. Kuroo grinned, wrapping his arms around the smaller boy, who turned slightly red at the contact. 

Hinata smiled softly, happy for the couple. Their relationship hadn't changed at all since the apocalypse, remaining full of teasing and comfort. Hinata's eyes flickered towards Kageyama, wondering how the other was feeling. 

Kageyama was looking at him too, and gave a small frown, communicating with his eyes, like they used to do back on the court together.

_You okay?_

Hinata gave a small smile in return, forcing himself not to dwell on his family right now. He could think about it later, when he was alone. 

_Yeah, I'm alright._

Kageyama narrowed his eyes, uncertain. Hinata looked away, breaking their eye contact. He wanted to sit next to the others, but his hunger was creeping up on him again. He hadn't eaten any of the meat he'd brought with him, uncomfortable with the thought of eating near the others. 

Ignoring the low grumbling of his stomach, Hinata slid his window open, leaning outside. He crossed his arms, resting them against the windowsill, and rested his head on top, closing his eyes. The wind rushed through his hair, tangling his ginger locks. 

Hinata took a deep breath of the fresh air, relieved that it wasn't tainted by the scents of his friends. It was soothing, being able to comfortably breathe around the others for once. 

Hinata's spell of serenity was broken by Noya's complaining. 

"Are we there yet? We've been driving for _days!_ " 

Asahi sighed in the driver's seat, looking completely worn out. "Noya, you've asked that four times already. We've only been driving for two hours. We still have around three hours until we reach Tokyo, and then we have to find Nekoma High." He answered patiently, quickly glancing at Noya in the rearview mirror.

"Asahi, do you want me to drive for a while? You look like you could use a nap." Kuroo called from the middle of the bus, looking slightly concerned. 

"Sure, I am pretty tired. I haven't been sleeping that great lately." Asahi accepted the offer, looking grateful. He pulled up to the side of the road he'd been driving on, stopping the bus. 

Once they'd safely parked, Kuroo gently slid Kenma off of his lap, giving him a soft kiss on the head. He walked up to the driver's seat, waiting for Asahi to stand up. Asahi gave him a nod of appreciation, before sliding into a nearby seat to sleep. 

As Kuroo started up the bus and began driving, Noya went to sit near Tanaka, letting Asahi nap in peace. "Bro, I just had the best idea!" Noya exclaimed, gaining everyone but Asahi and Kuroo's attention. 

"What is it?" Tanaka asked, already grinning. 

"Let's play truth or dare! It's the perfect way to pass time." Noya suggested, jumping with excitement. 

"That's such a great idea, dude! Everyone, come closer so we can all play!" Tanaka shouted, earning several grunts in response. Oikawa and Sugawara moved up a couple seats, looking unexcited. Bokuto dragged Akaashi towards the others, clearly thrilled with the idea. 

Hinata was bored, so he decided to join as well, plopping into a seat near Kageyama. Kenma seemed to have the same idea as him, sliding next to him, in his seat. Hinata blinked in surprise, but shrugged. Kenma was his close friend, and he didn't mind if he wanted to sit together. 

Kageyama didn't look too appeased with the idea, but stayed silent. Hinata gave him a small smile, before turning towards everyone else who'd gathered around. 

"Who starts?" He prompted, making Noya grin. 

"I will! Bokuto, truth or dare?" Noya asked, looking to the eager boy. 

"Dare!" Bokuto puffed out his chest, clearly trying to impress Akaashi. Akaashi simply rolled his eyes, but couldn't hide the small grin that formed.

"I dare you to tell us an embarrassing story about Kuroo, one that we don't already know about!" Noya shouted with glee, earning a frown from Kuroo, who'd been listening in to their conversation. 

"Oh! You guys don't know about the reason Kuroo started wearing his hair all messy like it is now!" Bokuto grinned, while Kenma snorted. 

"Bokuto, I will kill you in your sleep." Kuroo threatened, cheeks slightly pink. 

Bokuto smirked, before ignoring Kuroo's threats. "So one night before picture day in middle school, he fell asleep while chewing gum. The next morning, he woke up with the gum tangled in his hair, and spent his entire morning getting it out, and ending up having to run to school without styling his bedhead, and claimed he made it look like that on purpose to anyone who asked. He kept wearing it like that, and eventually began to actually like it, so now he just wears it because he thinks it looks good." He finished, laughing. 

Oikawa immediately began cackling, falling into a giggling Sugawara. Kenma was grinning, and even Akaashi was laughing softly. Hinata felt himself laugh, picturing a young and frantic Kuroo.

Noya and Tanaka whooped, wheezing with laughter. Kiyoko and Yachi giggled quietly,while Kageyama snorted with amusement at the story. 

"Whatever, I'm hot and you're all just jealous." Kuroo sniffed, focusing on the road instead of the others. Kenma had a small smile on his face, watching his boyfriend. 

"Okay my turn now! Akaashi, truth or dare?" Bokuto chirped, looking at his boyfriend.

"Dare." Akaashi replied, looking wary. 

"I dare you to give me a kiss!" Bokuto commanded, looking thoroughly pleased with himself. Akaashi rolled his eyes playfully, giving his boyfriend a quick peck on the lips. 

"My turn now. Sugawara, truth or dare?" He asked, peering at the silvery haired boy. Sugawara quickly debated his options, before settling on the one he deemed the safest.

"Dare."

Akaashi grinned, which quickly made Sugawara's confident expression turn wary. "I dare you to try to do the worm in the aisle between the seats." 

Sugawara snorted, accepting his fate. He walked to a space in the aisle, and laid down, failing miserably at doing the worm. Everyone snickered, pleased with his effort. 

Standing up, he brushed himself off. "Tooru, truth or dare?" Sugawara smiled sweetly, which instantly made Oikawa pale significantly. Sugawara was deadly when he spoke that sweetly, and would have no mercy on his friend. 

Hinata noticed Suga's use of Oikawa's first name, slightly surprised. It seemed the two had gotten extremely close recently, but he was happy for them. 

"Dare?" Oikawa replied, more of a question than a statement. He looked nervous, but tried to hide it with a grin. Sugawara smirked, crossing his arms.

"I dare you to give Kageyama a hug."

The bus instantly howled with laughter, everyone except Kageyama and Oikawa giggled, eagerly waiting for their reactions. Kageyama looked mildly disgusted, while Oikawa looked like he'd gotten slapped.

"Suga-chan, you can't do something like that to me! Please, have mercy!" Oikawa wailed, while Sugawara smiled victoriously. Oikawa sighed loudly, slowly standing up. He dragged himself to Kageyama, who had scrambled to the back of his seat, as far away as he could get from the brunette. 

"No way! This isn't my dare, I don't need to do it!" Kageyama whined, eyeing a reluctant Oikawa. Rolling his eyes, Oikawa grabbed his arm, yanking him into an extremely awkward hug. 

After a split second, the two sprung apart, grumbling about "the injustice of this world" and how "Suga-chan is a horrible, horrible person who should never be trusted." 

Everyone snickered, enjoying their suffering.

"My turn! Noya, truth or dare?" Oikawa chirped, glancing at the excited boy. 

"Truth!" Noya exclaimed, realizing that the dares had been brutal so far. Oikawa smirked, clearly expecting this answer.

"What's going on between you and man bun over there? He prompted, gesturing to a sleeping Asahi. Everyone perked up, eager for his answer. Noya and Asahi had been tiptoeing around each other for months, too scared to confess. 

Noya turned bright red. "N-Nothing! Why?" He stuttered, flailing his arms wildly. Oikawa rolled his eyes.

"Oh please, it's obvious that you're head over heels for each other, so why aren't you dating?"

"What!? Asahi doesn't like me like that, we're just friends." Noya protested, looking flustered.

"You didn't deny the fact that you're into him." Hinata pointed out, raising an eyebrow. Noya sighed, slumping in his seat.

"Of course I like him, but I'm sure he doesn't feel the same." He sulked, glancing at the sleeping boy. Everyone sighed, exasperated at the two's denseness.

"He's definitely into you, you should confess to him sometime soon." Tanaka encouraged, slapping his best friend's back. Noya perked up, looking hopeful.

"You really think so?"

"Duh, even I can tell that he likes you. I thought you two were already dating when I met you." Bokuto mentioned, grinning. 

"I'll tell him when we get to Nekoma!" Noya decided. 

Hinata smiled, happy for his friend. He relaxed into his seat, listening as his friends continued their game, bickering each time someone got an unpleasant dare. 

A small poke in his side caught his attention, and he found Kenma staring at him. 

"Yeah?" Hinata questioned, confused. 

"Do you want to talk about what was making you upset earlier?" Kenma asked quietly, making sure the others couldn't hear him. Hinata smiled sadly, appreciating the effort. 

"I found my family this morning. Survivors killed them." Hinata explained bluntly, biting his lip. Kenna's eyes widened slightly, not expecting that answer. 

"I'm sorry." Kenma replied, frowning. Hinata wilted, feeling tears rise up in his eyes. 

"It's okay." He whispered, voice cracking. Kenma offered him a hug, which he gratefully accepted. Kenma gave him a reassuring squeeze, comforting him. 

Hinata pushed away his tears, before pulling away. "Can you not tell the others? I've only told Oikawa about it so far, and I'm not ready for everyone to know yet." He asked softly, getting a small nod from Kenma. 

"Hinata! Truth or dare?" Tanaka called, making Hinata's head snap up. 

"Uh, truth." Hinata responded hesitantly. 

"You said once that it's harder to be around a certain person because their scent is more tempting, who were you talking about?" Tanaka asked, grinning at him. 

"Ooh, that's a good one! I was curious about it too." Noya applauded, while Oikawa nodded in agreement. Hinata felt himself heat up, embarrassed. 

"C-can't you ask a different question?" Hinata spluttered, glancing at Kageyama, who seemed just as invested in his answer as the others were.

"Nope!" Tanaka denied, shrugging. 

"Fine. It's uh, K-Kageyama." Hinata spit out, adamantly staring at his lap, avoiding Kageyama's surprised gaze. 

"I guess it makes sense that you'd want to pounce on your boyfriend over any of us." Oikawa snickered, making Hinata and Kageyama turn red. 

"My turn! Kiyoko, truth or dare?" Hinata asked, quickly changing the subject. 

As the game continued, Hinata managed to avoid eye contact with Kageyama, too embarrassed from his confession. 

A sinking feeling of dread settled in his stomach. 

He was _not_ looking forward to his next conversation with his boyfriend.


	11. Late Night Talks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all.. updates might be a bit sporadic for a while. My cat got loose last night and we haven't seen her since. I'm really struggling on writing when I'm worrying about her, so idk how long it'll take me to write them until she comes back. Hope you enjoy this one anyways<3

"He's _sleeping?_ "

"Should we wake him? Or let him sleep?" 

Hinata opened his eyes, vision blurry from sleep. Apparently he'd drifted off during their game earlier, and nobody had realized until now. 

Yawning, he noticed that everyone but Kuroo, who was still driving, was staring at him. "What?" 

Noya tilted his head. "It's just surprising to see you take a nap. You're always so energetic, nobody's really ever seen you genuinely exhausted." 

Hinata rubbed his eyes, trying to clear the sleep from his vision. "Being a zombie takes a lot of energy, I guess." He shrugged, not understanding why everyone was so confused. 

"I'm surprised you managed to sleep for an entire hour, through all of Bokuto and Noya's yelling." Sugawara commented, looking weary himself. Apparently the game of truth and dare had gotten quite out of hand, resulting in a screaming contest. How does something like that even happen?

"What are you talking about?" Hinata questioned, stifling another yawn. _Man_ , he really needed to get a better sleep schedule. 

"Bokuto and Noya were screaming their annoying asses off. Nobody should be able to sleep through that." Oikawa stated, rubbing his temples.

Bokuto and Noya grinned proudly.

Hinata gave them an amused smile, before turning towards the others. "Well, apparently I can. Try not to be too jealous." He teased, earning an exaggerated sigh from Oikawa.

"Anyways, how long 'till we reach Tokyo?" Tanaka interrupted, glancing at Kuroo. 

"Around an hour, I think." Kuroo answered, shrugging. He kept his focus on the road, keeping an eye out for any wandering zombies or survivors. 

"Cool, we're almost there, then." Akaashi mused, looking relieved. Bokuto shot him an innocent smile, wrapping him in yet another bear hug. 

Hinata smiled at the couple's antics, resting his forehead against his window. He realized that for the first time in a while, he wasn't feeling very hungry. The voice wasn't screaming in his head this time, it was more of a distant background noise.

It was nice, feeling almost normal again. He probably would've been happy, if not for the grief clawing at him, reminding him of his family. He'd felt slightly sick after seeing them, instantly losing his appetite. If it had been under any circumstance, losing his appetite would've been a blessing. But this time, the price was too steep. He'd lost the people he held closest to his heart, and he'd never get them back. 

Tears swelled in his eyes, blurring his vision once again. Hinata closed his eyes, swallowing thickly. He didn't want to cry, because then it'd be real. If he allowed himself to grieve, it would mean that they were really gone, and weren't ever coming back. He couldn't bring himself to accept that, not yet. 

Resting the side of his head against the cool glass, Hinata allowed himself to drift off, letting the comfortable rhythm of the bus's movement lull him to sleep like a lullaby. 

-

"We're here! We made it!" Bokuto cheered, waking Hinata from his sleep once again. 

The bus was parked, right in front of Nekoma's looming building. There didn't seem to be anyone around, but Hinata was instantly wary, not trusting the peaceful silence stretching around them. 

"Can I look around, before you guys get out?" Hinata asked, slowly standing up, trying to shake off his sleepiness. 

"Are you sure you want to go solo? I can come with you." Kuroo suggested, looking unsure. 

"Nah, I'll be alright. Just stay inside the bus until I come back out." Hinata assured, stepping outside. 

He could instantly smell the tempting scent of other zombies, drifting from inside the school. Hinata felt his body relax, pupils slitting, as he began to stalk his prey like an animal. 

Running his tongue over his incisors, he quickly glanced around the parking lot. Pleased to see that it was empty, aside from him and his companions, he headed towards the school's entryway. 

The doors were locked, which prompted Hinata to lean back, before slamming his foot into them, busting them open. It was surprisingly easy, making him lose his balance slightly. Stumbling inside, he looked around the hall.

It was a large, white hallway, lined with classroom doors. To his right was an office, presumably belonging to a Principal. It appeared empty, but Hinata crept up to it just in case. 

Swinging the door open, Hinata poked his head inside. It was in fact, empty. The shelves and desk were lined with a layer of dust, showing that it hadn't been used for months. 

_Nobody's been in here since before the apocalypse, I guess._

Backing out into the hallway, Hinata decided to check all the classrooms. The first three were empty, but the fourth had two zombies. One appeared to have been a janitor of some sorts, a small cart and mop abandoned a few feet away from it. The second one might've been a teacher at one point, but Hinata wasn't sure. 

It didn't really matter what they had been, because now they were threats, and Hinata had to get rid of them. 

Lunging at the closest one, Hinata quickly grabbed it's head, snapping it's neck over his knee. He wasn't in the mood to get messy right now, and wanted to finish this as fast as possible. Running to the second one, he repeated his earlier move, leaning it's head over his bent knee and pushing _hard,_ until it snapped loudly.

Pleased with himself, Hinata dragged the bodies over to a corner, tidying up so that the others wouldn't be as startled when they happened to come across the corpses. 

Eventually, Hinata finished checking the school. He'd run into a few more zombies, but took care of them easily. 

Trotting outside, he gave Kuroo a thumbs up, signaling to open the doors. 

"All clear." Hinata declared, stepping back into the bus. 

"We're there any zombies inside?" Asahi asked, handing him his belongings from the pile. 

"A few, yeah. I took care of them, though." Hinata nodded, accepting the items Asahi placed into his hands. Asahi hummed in response, seeming satisfied enough. 

As everyone grabbed their stuff, they followed Kuroo and Kenma into the school. After all, those two were the only ones who really knew their way around. 

As the group walked, Kageyama fell into step with Hinata, lightly bumping his shoulder into him. 

"You okay?" Kageyama murmured, so the others wouldn't eavesdrop. 

"No, but I'm not ready to explain why yet. Can we talk tonight?" Hinata answered honestly, catching the curious glance Kageyama tossed at him. 

"Sure, whenever you're ready." Kageyama agreed, giving him a soft pat on the head. Hinata gave him a small smile, before focusing on the school. 

Kuroo swung the doors open, grinning excitedly. This was _his_ turf now, so he knew he was in charge. Kenma rolled his eyes, but stayed beside him. 

Everyone else walked inside, glancing around curiously. Hinata heard a few mumbles, but everyone seemed to be satisfied with their new home. As everyone drifted apart, choosing their rooms, there was a loud scream. 

Hinata bolted towards the sound, to find Tanaka leaning over, resting his hands on his knees and muttering some sort of prayer. 

"What's wrong?" Hinata demanded, looking around the room. 

"I saw the zombies and thought they were alive. Everything's all good now." Tanaka confessed, looking sheepish. The small crowd that had formed in the doorway sighed in unison, looking towards the bodies. 

Hinata had dragged them into a corner earlier, but they _did_ look like they could be alive, if you didn't notice the sickening lolling of the heads, unsupported by the shattered neck bones. 

"My bad." Hinata grinned, slapping Tanaka's back. 

"Damn Tanaka, you're such a wimp." Oikawa snickered, earning a smack on the head from Sugawara. 

"Mind your manners." Suga scolded, shaking his head slightly. Hinata smiled, pleased to see the two returning to their old selves. 

"Alright everyone, choose your rooms!" Kuroo prompted, before leaving the room. Kenma trailed after him, giving Hinata a small wave, and a knowing look. 

_You need to tell Kageyama soon._ It seemed to say. 

Hinata grimaced, not looking forward to it. _I will._ He sighed, leaving to go find himself a room. 

-

Later that night, Kageyama walked into Hinata's room, clearing his throat until Hinata looked at him. 

"Hey." Hinata greeted, gesturing for him to come sit down. Kageyama obeyed, approaching him slowly, like he was scared he was going to startle the ginger haired boy. 

"Are you ready to talk now? It's okay if you still need time." Kageyama asked softly, laying an arm around Hinata's shoulders. 

"I'm ready. I went out for a walk before we left Karasuno and ended up pretty close to my house. I decided to check if my family was still there, and if they were alive. I found them..I found them all dead, even Natsu. They were shot by survivors, which means they didn't even need to die. Someone was just greedy and slaughtered them all, like they were animals." The words tumbled out of Hinata's mouth, easier than he'd expected. 

"Sho, I'm so sorry. That's awful, I wish you didn't have to see that." Kageyama comforted, hugging him tightly. Hinata found himself tearing up again, the impact of his family's deaths finally hitting him.

_They're gone._

_They're gone and they're never coming back._

The tears fell before he could stop them, and the next thing he knew, Hinata was choking back a sob. Kageyama rubbed his back soothingly, but it did nothing to help his grief. 

He'd already lost a part of himself when he'd turned, then he lost two of his friends, and now his _family?_

"Why do bad things keep happening to me? What did I do to deserve this?" Hinata wailed quietly, hiding his face in the crook of Kageyama's neck. 

"I'm so sorry, Sho. You don't deserve any of this, it isn't your fault." Kageyama murmured, stroking his hair softly. 

For the next few hours, Hinata clung to his boyfriend, desperate for reassurance that he was still there, that he hadn't died and left him too. 

As Hinata cried, Kageyama continued to hold him carefully, as if he was made of glass, one wrong move and he'd be completely shattered. The two held on to each other, eventually drifting into sleep.

-

"Aw, I wish I had a camera." A voice sighed, the trace of a smile lingering in it's tone. 

"They're adorable, but I'm hungry. Can someone make breakfast?" Another voice complained, sounding suspiciously like Oikawa. 

Hinata opened his bleary eyes, only to find all of his friends standing over him and his sleeping boyfriend. 

Hinata jolted, started to see everyone crowded around them. "What's up?" He asked, rubbing his eyes. Nobody spoke, but everyone grinned widely, their eyes flickering from him to Kageyama. Rolling his eyes, Hinata stretched. 

"You two are almost as cute as Kenma and I." Kuroo smirked, resting his chin on top of Kenma's head, who promptly stomped on his foot, making him yelp.

"Why are you guys being all weird? You all sleep with your boyfriends, what's different about me and Tobio?" Hinata questioned, earning several smirks. 

" _Tobio?_ Huh? You're on a first name basis?" Oikawa grinned deviously, raising an eyebrow. Hinata felt himself flush, embarrassed that he'd so casually called Kageyama by his first name. 

"Oh, piss off." Hinata rolled his eyes again, trying to hide the faint blush that lingered in his cheeks. Oikawa simply snickered, unoffended. 

"This is sweet and all, but Oikawa was right earlier. Can someone make breakfast already? I'm _starving._ " Tanaka whined, earning an enthusiastic nod from Bokuto. 

"Asahi should cook, he makes super good omelettes!" Noya suggested, dragging Asahi towards their cafeteria. Tanaka and Bokuto ran after them, eager to see if this was true. 

Everyone else trailed after them, leaving Hinata and Kageyama alone once again. 

Hinata glanced back down at his boyfriend, admiring how his soft black hair rested against his smooth skin. He looked vulnerable while he slept, all traces of his permanent scowl gone. Suddenly, his eyelids fluttered open, catching Hinata staring at him. 

"Mornin' Kageyama. Asahi's about to make breakfast if you want some." Hinata informed, smiling down at him. 

Kageyama frowned. "Tobio."

"What?" Hinata asked, confused. 

"You can call me Tobio, you know. I'd actually prefer if you did." Kageyama insisted, slightly pink. 

"Okay, Tobio. You can call me Shoyo, then." Hinata smiled, glad they'd gotten so close since the beginning of the apocalypse. Kageyama gave him a small smile, before tugging him to lay back down again. 

The two spent the morning talking quietly about anything and everything, from Hinata's family to volleyball tactics, any plans of having breakfast with the others long gone.


	12. He's A Dead Man Walking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is one hell of a rollercoaster lmao
> 
> I'm going to try to wrap up this story in the next couple chapters! <3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My cat is back now, (yay!) So I'll probably be updating regularly again. Hope y'all enjoy<3

_Two weeks later_

"Hinata! Come over here, _now!_ " a voice whisper-shouted, distracting Hinata from the volleyball he'd been tossing against a wall inside his room. 

Hinata looked towards the source of the voice, his volleyball promptly smacking him in the side of his head. 

"Ow! What's going on, Suga?" Hinata questioned, rubbing his head. The silver haired boy grabbed his arm, pulling him outside his room, past a corner, and towards a door at the end of the hallway.

"Shh! We need to be quiet, we can't get caught." Sugawara whispered, stopping once they reached the crowd of people around the closed door. 

Hinata looked around in confusion, noticing everyone but Kiyoko, Yachi, Asahi, and Nishinoya were standing there, aside from Kenma, and Akaashi, who were both sitting on the ground, rolling their eyes. 

"What's going on? Is everything okay?" Hinata prodded, extremely confused now. Everyone shushed him, busy leaning against the door. Sighing, Hinata crouched down by Kenma. "Kenma? Do you know what's going on?"

Kenma sighed quietly, earning several urgent shushes from the others. Rolling his eyes, he turned to Hinata. "Noya is finally confessing to Asahi, and everyone wants to eavesdrop." 

Hinata perked up, excited. Noya had promised to confess once they'd reached Nekoma, but had procrastinated for two whole weeks. Hinata was happy that it was finally happening, and was most definitely _not_ going to miss out on it. 

He tiptoed to the door, pushing his way through Kuroo and Bokuto who both protested, before being told to shut up by everyone else. While they sulked, Hinata pressed his ear to the door. 

"-eally like you, and I promised everyone that I would confess to you once we reached Nekoma, but I was too nervous so I put if off until now but I wanted to tell you because I feel like you should know and-" Nishinoya's muffled voice was rambling, making Hinata grin. He was actually doing it!

Oikawa's elbow jabbed into his side, as Kuroo tried to push his way back to the door. 

"Sorry, Shrimpy." Oikawa whispered, stomping on Kuroo's foot, who muffled a groan. 

"Move, fat ass!" Kuroo whispered, glaring at Oikawa. Oikawa simply flipped him off, pressing his ear back against the door. Hinata snickered, before mimicking the brunette. 

Asahi murmured something, but he was so soft spoken that Hinata couldn't make out what he'd said. Based on Nishinoya's happy shout, Hinata assumed it was something good. 

"Asahi accepted his confession! They're dating now!" Suga whisper-shouted, earning several quiet cheers. 

"I'm so proud of my bro." Tanaka murmured, wiping a tear. Akaashi sighed, and walked away with Kenma. 

Bokuto and Kuroo hugged in celebration, having a bro moment that looked so intimate, Hinata found himself looking away to give them privacy. 

Oikawa was leaning against the door and smirking, patting Sugawara on the back. Suga was murmuring to himself, debating whether or not he had to give them "the talk", because Noya was like his child, but Asahi was more of a brother to him.

Hinata smiled, and noticed Kageyama had approached him. 

"Took him long enough." Kageyama snorted, earning a quiet laugh from Hinata. 

"Yeah, I'm glad it all worked out for them, though." Hinata murmured, and Kageyama nodded in agreement. 

Suddenly, the door swung open, making Oikawa topple backwards, knocking Noya down with him. 

"Whoa buddy, my body belongs to Asahi now!" Noya laughed, pushing Oikawa off of him. Asahi turned bright red, and helped his boyfriend stand up, ignoring everyone's snickers.

"Oh please, I'm way out of your league, shorty." Oikawa sniffed, standing up and dusting himself off. 

Everyone collectively rolled their eyes, ignoring Oikawa as they walked away, congratulating the new couple. Oikawa gave an exaggerated sigh, before reluctantly trailing after them. 

Hinata shook his head with a grin, happy that everyone seemed to be in a good mood today. 

Happier days were getting harder and harder to come by in the apocalypse, and losing their friends had only made it worse. But for once, everything seemed to be going smoothly. 

Unfortunately, their group seemed to have a talent for getting into complicated situations. 

As the group rounded the corner together, they found themselves face to face with three figures.

Two of those figures were looking at them with panicked expressions, calming down slightly when they spotted a familiar face in the crowd. 

The third person was slumped over slightly, clutching at his rapidly bleeding side. 

"Told you.. they'd be here." The boy muttered, flashing a pained grin. 

Oikawa screamed. 

The brunette instantly bolted towards the injured boy, before Sugawara quickly wrenched him back. 

"He's injured, we need to stitch him up before you can hug him." Suga said calmly, approaching the bleeding boy. "Welcome back, Iwaizumi."

Iwaizumi nodded in acknowledgement, wincing at a stab of pain in his side. "Look, I missed you guys and all, but can I get stitched up, please?" He groaned, and Sugawara and Oikawa ran to support him before he fell over. 

"Wow, nice to see you too Oikawa! I sure am glad you care about us so much." One of Iwaizumi's companions said sarcastically, amusement clear on his face. 

"I agree, Makki. He clearly loves us dearly." Matsukawa snickered, earning a tired smile from Oikawa. 

"I missed you two assholes. I'm glad you aren't dead." Oikawa grinned, walking Iwaizumi towards the nurse's office, while everyone followed them. 

"So touching." Hanamaki wiped away a fake tear. 

"Not to ruin the touching moment, but what the hell is going on?" Hinata asked, dumbfounded. 

All of a sudden, Iwaizumi was back from the dead? And he brought two friends from Aoba Johsai? This was impossible, Hinata _saw_ that man out his knife to Iwaizumi's throat, and he heard the screams that followed. Iwaizumi was _dead_. Except apparently he wasn't. 

"It's a long, complicated story, and I'll explain if I don't die of blood loss first." Iwaizumi supplied dryly, stumbling into the nurse's office, Suga and Oikawa following in and shutting the door. 

Everyone turned to Hanamaki and Matsukawa. 

"Oh yeah, I guess you're probably wondering who we are and all that jazz." Hanamaki chirped, sitting onto the ground. "Sit down children, and I'll tell you what the fuck happened."

"Is he being serious?" Tanaka whispered, while Noya immediately plopped down onto the floor. 

"Yes, unfortunately he is." Matsukawa sighed, trying to hide his grin. 

Everyone reluctantly sat down around the two, determined to hear the story. 

"Okay, first of all, who was the last person to see Iwaizumi, we'll start there." Matsukawa questioned, while Hinata and Akaashi raised their hands. 

"I saw one of those hostile survivors at the mall put a knife to his throat, and I heard him scream. How the hell is he alive? Is Daichi alive too?" Hinata rambled, fidgeting nervously.

"I didn't see it myself, but according to Iwaizumi, he got a nasty cut on his collarbone as punishment for trying to protect Daichi, so he could die in peace. Daichi is definitely not alive, and Iwaizumi has the scar to prove that he's telling the truth." Hanamaki explained, frowning at the memory. 

Everyone went quiet, absorbing the information. 

It made sense, Iwaizumi would've been able to survive if the cut hadn't actually been to his throat. 

A loud groan interrupted their silence, coming from inside the nurse's office. It was muffled through the doorway but clearly belonged to Iwaizumi. 

The door clicked open, a satisfied Sugawara strolling into the hallway. "He's all patched up! Be careful with hugging him though, you don't want to rip the stitches or else I'll have to redo them." 

"Oh god, I never want to experience that again." Iwaizumi grumbled, awkwardly shuffling out of the office, leaning on Oikawa's shoulder. 

Hinata nodded in sympathy, remembering his own unfortunate experience with Suga's stitching. 

"Back to the story!" Hanamaki exclaimed, before quickly being shushed by Iwaizumi. 

"I'll take over. You two are way too dramatic." Iwaizumi declared, slowly sitting down next to them, a fretting Oikawa at his side. 

"Fine, fine. We just got past the your death-that-wasn't-actually-a-death part." Matsukawa informed casually, making Iwaizumi roll his eyes. 

"Okay well, after I got my freaking collarbone sliced in half, they took me inside and kept me as a prisoner. They cleaned up my wound a bit before tossing me into a makeshift cell-"

"It was actually a Hot Topic store, y'know, before the whole apocalypse thing." Hanamaki interrupted, earning a few snickers. 

"-I found these two idiots already inside, they'd apparently been dumb enough to get captured by them weeks before we even arrived at Karasuno." Iwaizumi continued, before Bokuto butted in. 

"How did you two get captured?" He asked, eyes wide. Everyone leaned forward, enthralled in the exciting tale.

"Makki was hungry and wanted McDonald's, because he's a dumbass, so we tried to break into the mall to see if there was anything in the food court. They found him when he was stuck in one of the windows. I've never laughed harder while being simultaneously terrified, in my entire life." Matsukawa informed, snickering. 

Everyone laughed, even Iwaizumi grinned. 

"I used my skill of master persuasion to convince them to keep us alive." Hanamaki bragged, smirking. 

"He told them that we would be useful on raids, and that we could fight off zombies while they looted. They agreed, but kept us as prisoners so that we wouldn't escape, and only let us use crowbars as weapons, when they had guns. It sucked ass." Matsukawa grumbled. 

Iwaizumi snorted, amused. "When I got there, they offered me the same deal. Obviously I accepted, because they'd kill me if I didn't. We spent around two months being their slaves, before we got lucky on a raid. We were overrun with zombies, and managed to escape while the other members with us got killed. We've spent the last two weeks slowly making our way here." 

"Iwaizumi got attacked by a zombie in the parking lot, and Mattsun accidentally stabbed him while killing the zombie." Hanamaki said gleefully, laughing at the frowning boy. 

"Sorry about that, Iwaizumi." Matsukawa apologized. 

"It's fine, you saved my life in the end." Iwaizumi shrugged. 

"Hold up, how did you guys know we would be here?" Kuroo asked, confused. Everyone nodded, wondering the same thing. Even Kenma seemed intrigued. 

"You didn't tell them?" Iwaizumi queried, looking at Oikawa. 

"I left a note in Iwa-chan's room, before we left. I didn't think he was still alive, but it was just in case." Oikawa admitted sheepishly, clinging tighter on his boyfriend's arm. 

"Well, it all worked out in the end. I'm glad you're back, Iwaizumi." Tanaka grinned, Noya nodding excitedly next to him. 

"You're like a hero! That's so cool!" Noya shouted, jumping in excitement. Asahi smiled softly, nodding in agreement. 

"I'm just lucky." Iwaizumi insisted, slightly red. 

Oikawa grinned mischievously, and whispered something in his ear, making Iwaizumi promptly smack him on the head, turning bright red. Oikawa grinned, looking happier than he'd been for a long time. 

"Thank you for saving Hinata and I." Akaashi said quietly, fidgeting with his fingers anxiously. 

"Thanks for surviving and making it worth it." Iwaizumi replied, giving the two a small smile. 

Hinata grinned back at him, thrilled that he was back. 

"Not to be the bearer of bad news, but we do have a slight problem." Matsukawa interrupted, instantly making everyone uneasy. 

They really couldn't seem to catch a break. 

"What's wrong?" Sugawara prodded, looking concerned. 

"The people that held us hostage, weren't just a disorganized group of survivors. They had a leader, a man named Aku." Hanamaki explained, frowning.

"Okay, but we're pretty far away from them now. We should be fine." Kageyama piped up. 

"Yeah, but one of the members from the looting team we were on must've survived, because Aku seems to know that we're alive, and that we ran away." Iwaizumi sighed, rubbing his temples. 

"Well that's definitely concerning, but they don't know where you are." Hinata reasoned, trying to stay hopeful. 

"Aku is insane, he wouldn't just let us escape, he'd want revenge. Plus, we saw him and his followers more than once on our way here, we barely managed to sneak past them without catching their attention. I think they might've guessed that we lived at Karasuno previously, and probably found the note after we left." 

The group went silent, uneasy. Nobody was excited to hear that they had a psychopath looking for them, but nobody had a solution, either. 

"We could always leave, and find a new place to live in." Asahi suggested, looking unexcited at the thought. 

"I'm tired of running away, let's kick their asses!" Noya exclaimed, pumping his fist in the air angrily. Bokuto nodded eagerly, while Kuroo gave him a hearty slap on the back. 

"It's probably too dangerous to travel around, with Aku and his minions lurking around. They have guns, and could beat us in a fight, unless we had the advantage of surprise." Matsukawa decided, Hanamaki nodding with him. 

"We can set up traps here, and we can finally use the bombs I made! It's perfect! We just sit back and wait for them to find us, and crush them before they can do anything." Kuroo declared, earning several murmurs of agreement. 

"Sitting back and waiting sounds good to me." Kenma murmured. 

"We're gonna blow shit up!" Noya and Tanaka cheered, Bokuto whooping excitedly with them. 

"We're going to _crush_ them." Oikawa said determinedly, a hatred for the people who had hurt his lover and best friends, burning brightly in his eyes. 

Everyone cheered, determined to get revenge on the people who'd caused them so much pain. 

Hinata narrowed his eyes, ready to take on anyone who wanted to attack his friends. 

If anyone tried to hurt his new family, there'd be hell to pay.


	13. Spillin' The Beans

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> My motivation has completely died but I WILL be finishing fic! I'll do my best to wrap it up quickly, but idk how long it'll take me to update.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was writing this and accidentally deleted the first half :') 
> 
> TW- mention of eating disorders (nothing specific, just casually mentioned)

It had been a couple days since Iwaizumi, Matsukawa, and Hanamaki had arrived, and Hinata hadn't figured out whether or not Iwaizumi had told them about his zombie-like tendencies. 

Nobody had brought it up so far, and Hinata hadn't had the chance to ask Iwaizumi about it. 

Oikawa was practically attached to his boyfriend at this point, paranoid that he'd lose him again. Iwaizumi was patient enough, and seemed to enjoy spending time with his boyfriend, after not seeing him for months. 

Hinata didn't want to interrupt their peace, so he stayed away. He noticed the glances Hanamaki shot at him when he skipped dinner every night, going on a "walk" instead. 

Either the boy didn't know what Hinata was _actually_ doing, or he was just curious about it and too nervous to ask. 

_I'm sure I'm just overthinking it._

-

"I think we should locate Aku and his group, and figure out what we're going against. We should know what weapons they brought, and if everyone from the mall is with him." Iwaizumi declared, surprising everyone. 

They were all sitting in the volleyball room, discussing their battle plans. Everyone was huddled in a small circle, and Hinata was trying to take shallow breaths, because he hadn't eaten yet today, and was _hungry._ He was really regretting his decision to eat after the meeting. 

"I thought we were going to wait here, and stay _safe._ " Oikawa frowned.

"I agree with Iwaizumi, it would be smart to know exactly what we're up against." Kuroo acknowledged, making Oikawa's frown deepen. 

"Who would go?" Suga questioned, looking around. 

"Hanamaki, Akaashi, Hinata, and I would be good. All of us are able to stay quiet and focused, Hanamaki knows what they look like, and Hinata would be helpful in case anything goes wrong." Kuroo suggested, warning a few nods. 

Hinata didn't miss the confused glances that Matsukawa and Hanamaki shared, but didn't comment on it. 

Oikawa looked relieved that Iwaizumi would be staying, but still uneasy that Hanamaki would be going. 

"Why do you have to go, 'Kaashi? It's not safe! I want to take Akaashi's place!" Bokuto fretted, who had been laying his head in Akaashi's lap, but now shifted to wrap his arms around the boy's waist. 

"I'll be fine, Bokuto. You need to stay here and protect the others." Akaashi assured, stroking his hair. Bokuto nodded reluctantly, holding him a bit tighter. 

"You should take some of those bombs you made!" Noya suggested excitedly, while Asahi paled significantly. 

"Bombs?" Hanamaki and Matsukawa questioned at the same time, grinning. 

"Yeah, we have some Molotov Cocktails, and we're saving them just in case. Now we can finally use them!" Kuroo explained, looking ecstatic. 

"Hell yeah!" Tanaka cheered, high-fiving Noya. Asahi sighed and mumbled a prayer under his breath. 

"Please be careful with them!" Yachi squeaked, terrified to be the center of attention, but concerned nonetheless. 

"Do not set each other on fire with them." Kiyoko requested calmly, rubbing Yachi's back soothingly. Kageyama alerted at that, shooting Hinata a nervous glance.

"We won't!" Kuroo waved dismissively at the concerns, knowing they'd be fine. Akaashi looked uncertain, but stayed silent. Kenma sighed quietly, unamused by his boyfriend's enthusiasm. 

"When are we going?" Hinata piped up, impatiently tapping his fingers in the ground. His hunger was really hitting him now, and he wanted to leave the gym as soon as possible. 

_EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT EAT._

"We should go tonight, so it's easier to hide. Plus they'd be asleep, which would make it safer." Hanamaki suggested, earning several nods. 

"Okay, cool. I'll be right back." Hinata said, scrambling out of the gym and heading out into the parking lot. He had to be careful not to be seen by Aku's group, in case they were around, so he didn't venture into the city. 

Luckily, Hinata could smell a zombie nearby, and didn't pick up any fresh human scents, other than his friend's. 

Following the smell, he found a zombie approaching their school, probably smelling the others inside. Hinata jumped in front of it, grabbing it's arm when it tried to shoulder past him. 

"Sorry bud, but I can't have you eating my friends." Hinata apologized, before grabbing it's head and snapping it's neck over his knee. He'd gotten quite good at killing zombies quickly, after doing it every single day. 

He dumped it's body on the ground, and began to bite into it's arm. As he ripped the arm off, he froze, hearing voices nearby. 

Hinata couldn't smell their scents very well, they were masked by the zombie blood that was overpowering his sense of smell. 

Unsure of whether or not the voices belonged to friends or foe, Hinata bolted, taking the arm with him. He was careful not to leave a trail of blood, covering the bloody end of the arm with his shirt. He hid behind two old garbage cans, big enough to conceal his small body. For the first time, he was grateful to be short.

The voices got closer, revealing a group of people he'd never seen before. 

_Is that Aku's group?_

A man led the group, strutting confidentially with a gun resting in the palm of his hand, while the others nervously followed him. The followers looked skittish and pale, with a few of them sporting hunting bows strapped to their thin backs. Aku spotted the zombie first, and seemed intrigued about where the missing arm had gone. 

"I've never seen a zombie smart enough to take a part of it's meal with it. I wonder if they're evolving?" The man hummed, before turning around. "Hey, you! Go see if the zombie is still alive." He pointed at a boy around Hinata's age, maybe a few years older. 

The boy paled, but didn't bother arguing. He slowly crept up to the zombie, and nervously peeked at it, biting his lip. 

The zombie didn't move, obviously dead after Hinata's earlier attack. When the boy straightened up again, he caught Hinata's eye, and his eyes widened. The boy quickly looked away, not revealing Hinata's location.

"It's dead. I think it's neck is broken, the head is leaning over too far to be natural." The boy reported, quickly rejoining the safety of the group. 

"It's neck was broken? That's not how zombies fight. Maybe they really are evolving. That's bad news for us." The leader frowned, looking irritated. 

The group murmured, casting feared glances at the leading. Nobody seemed to like him, but they kept quiet and obeyed his orders. "We need to stay alert, the blood around it hasn't dried, so the zombie should still be nearby." The leader continued, scanning the road in front of them. 

"What if a survivor was desperate and tried eating a zombie? Maybe it wasn't even a zombie that killed it. That'd mean the group we're looking for is nearby." A man suggested. 

Hinata's breath caught, and he froze. The man had no idea how close he was to figuring it out, and that made Hinata panic slightly. 

"Are you saying I'm wrong?" The leader -definitely Aku- questioned, his voice frighteningly cold. The man instantly shook his head, shutting up. 

Hinata breathed out a sigh of relief, thank God that Aku was an idiot. 

As the group continued forward, walking past the zombie, Hinata stayed still. He watched them silently, waiting until they were gone. The boy he'd made eye contact with glanced back at him, giving him a sad look. When he noticed the ripped off arm clutched in Hinata's hands, his eyes widened once again, and he quickly turned away.

Once they'd left, Hinata resumed his meal, before heading back to school. He slunk around carefully, knowing Aku's group was nearby. 

He quickly made his way back, and avoided running into the others, making his way to his room. Hinata made it there without stumbling into anyone, and breathed a sigh of relief. 

Hinata changed his shirt, tossing it into a pile of dirty clothes. He didn't want the others to see him with blood all over him. 

Making his way to the bathrooms, he washed the dried blood off of his face and arms, scrubbing to get rid of it from under his nails. 

Once he'd finished, he made his way back to the gym, surprised to see that everyone was still there. They glanced up when he walked inside, giving him a few nods in acknowledgement. 

"Guys, I saw Aku's group." Hinata burst out, grabbing their attention. 

Oikawa dropped the volleyball he'd been tossing around. 

"What?" Kageyama demanded, frowning. 

"I was out..on a walk, when I heard voices so I hid. Him and his followers showed up and saw a zombie corpse and talked about it, Aku thinks that the zombies are evolving- he's wrong though. It was just me, but he doesn't need to know that. He made a boy see if the zombie was dead, and the boy spotted me, but didn't say anything. Then they left." 

"WHAT!?" Everyone shrieked, panicking. 

"Why did he think the zombies are evolving, what did you do?" Hanamaki asked, looking lost. 

"You didn't tell them?" Hinata questioned, looking at Iwaizumi. 

"Tell us what?" Matsukawa chimed in, looking just as lost as Hanamaki. 

"I figured it was your secret to tell, not mine." Iwaizumi explained, rubbing his neck. 

"Oh well, thanks for that, I appreciate the thought." Hinata smiled, grateful Iwaizumi had warmed up to him. 

"What aren't you telling us?" Hanamaki prodded, Matsukawa nodding in agreement. 

"I'm technically a zombie. I was bitten, but I have a mutated version- it's a long story, I'm sure Kuroo would live to explain that part- so I can control myself. It's hard, but I can do it." Hinata admitted.

"Wait, what do you eat then?" Matsukawa asked, while Hanamaki looked absolutely baffled. 

"I can eat other zombies, instead of people. I can smell their scents along with human scents too, which is helpful on raids." 

"That's why you haven't been eating with us! I thought you were anorexic or something!" Hanamaki exclaimed, looking slightly relieved.

"I don't have an eating disorder!" Hinata spluttered, earning a few snickers. 

"Well, the truth's out now. Can we get back to the important stuff?" Akaashi interrupted. Iwaizumi nodded in agreement. 

"Wait wait, how did Hinata get a mutated version of the virus?" Matsukawa cut Akaashi off, looking at Kuroo. 

Kuroo quickly filled them in, and Matsukawa and Hanamaki looked at Hinata with awe. 

"That's like a freaking super power or something." Hanamaki grinned, Matsukawa nodding eagerly. 

"That's so cool." 

"Uh, thank you." Hinata thanked them awkwardly, unused to the positive reactions from his dirty secret. 

"Back to Aku, are you sure that kid didn't say anything about you?" Iwaizumi interrupted, steering the conversation back to the important stuff.

"Yeah, he seemed terrified of Aku, and didn't want to drag me into the mess. I don't think anyone in the group actually wants to be there, they're just scared." Hinata didn't want to fight them, but he knew he might have too. 

"Hopefully we can sway them to help us take down Aku. Most of the people there were generally nice, at least when Aku wasn't around." Iwaizumi murmured, remembering his days as a prisoner. 

"It's good that you saw them, you can follow their scent trail and lead us to their hideout." Kuroo smirked, looking forward to their mission. 

"Sure, but we need to be careful. They have better weapons than us. Aku had a gun when I saw him, and few of the people had hunting bows." Hinata warned, nervous. 

The gun would be a big problem, and everyone knew it. 

Guns were hard to come by in Japan, so not many survivors had the luxury of owning one. Nobody in Hinata's group had a gun, relying on knives, baseball bats, and various pipes to fight off the zombies. 

"We're going to take him down." Hanamaki declared, a determined glint in his eye. 

Hinata had almost forgotten about the grudge Hanamaki and Matsukawa held against the man, after being his prisoners for so long. It couldn't have been easy, especially since Aku was so cruel. 

"Yeah, we are." Hinata echoed.


	14. A Sickening Trophy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> sorry it took so long to update
> 
> This is a slightly longer chapter than normal, hope that makes up for it a bit <3

Hinata couldn't stop thinking. 

He knew that he was generally known to be somewhat of an airhead, and while that was normally true, the apocalypse had changed him just as it had changed everyone else in some way. 

That night, as Hinata gathered his supplies for his quote unquote "spy mission" with the others, he found himself thinking about the boy who had seen him earlier. 

Once the initial shock had worn off, a feeling of déjà vu had clung onto him. Hinata had been too panicked to notice earlier, but now he was realizing that the boy was strangely familiar. He definitely knew him from somewhere, he just couldn't remember _where._

The boy had been around Hinata's height so he assumed they were the same age, and had sandy blonde hair paired with fierce brown eyes. 

Every time he tried to remember where he had seen him from, he could only picture Kuroo and Kenma. 

_What the hell is my brain trying to tell me!?_

"Are you ready to go?" a voice broke him out of his thoughts. 

Glancing up towards the sound, Hinata met Akaashi's cool gaze. The older boy had dressed in colors that would help him blend in with the dark forest scenery, a dark green shirt matched with black pants. The clothes were slightly dirty and ratty, but Akaashi still managed to pull them off, somehow. He had a backpack slung over his shoulder, most likely hiding a few weapons, in case their mission went badly.

"Yeah, is everyone else waiting for me?" Hinata stood up, tossing on his own bag of supplies. He himself had tried to dress appropriately for the occasion, wearing loose dark brown pants and a plain black long sleeved shirt. 

Akaashi gave him a quick nod, before heading off towards the parking lot outside. Hinata trailed after him, still trying to figure out just who that mystery boy from earlier was.

As the two made their way towards the rest of their small group, quickly stopping to say their goodbyes to the others who would be staying back at the school, he not have tried to push the boy to the back of his mind, determined to put all of his focus on making sure the mission would be successful.

"All right, is everyone ready to go?" Kuroo asked once Hinata and Akaashi had joined him and Hanamaki. 

"Let's do this!" Hanamaki cheered quietly, cocking his lips into an uneven smirk. Akaashi gave him a small smile in return, looking significantly less excited. 

"Does everyone have at least one of my bombs?" Kuroo prodded, holding a bottle full of liquid as demonstration. 

Hinata nodded along with the others, remembering when Kuroo had slipped him a few after the group meeting, just in case. The bottles were carefully nestled inside his backpack, protected by an old t-shirt, so they wouldn't break. 

"Follow me, I'll show you guys where I last saw them." Hinata instructed, retracing his route from earlier. 

The group walked silently behind him, everyone on high alert. They were determined not to get ambushed by Aku again, not wanting a repeat of what happened at the mall, months ago. 

Once they had reached the spot where Hinata had hidden, they headed in the direction he'd last seen Aku go. They quickly reached a split in the road and spread out a bit, looking for clues as to which way Aku's group might've gone. 

The zombie corpse was still strewn in the street, an awkward reminder of how different Hinata was from the rest of his group. 

Everyone ignored it. 

"I found a few droplets of blood, someone in his group is probably injured. I think they went this way, though." Akaashi called out quietly, drawing everyone towards where he was standing. 

"Yeah that makes sense. Nobody in the group seemed well taken care of, besides Aku. He really doesn't care about them at all." Hinata said sadly, remembering the disheveled state the people had been in. 

"Let's tread carefully from here on, they could be close by." Hanamaki murmured, earning a few nods in agreement. 

Kuroo led them forward, while Akaashi protected the group from the rear, making sure no zombies snuck up on them. They walked for a bit, before Kuroo abruptly stopped. 

Hanamaki walked straight into Kuroo's back, while Hinata stumbled into his, and Akaashi carefully stopped just before running into Hinata as well. 

"Thanks for the heads up." Hanamaki hissed, regaining his balance. Hinata stepped backwards, embarrassed. 

"Sorry, but I think I see someone. He's probably standing guard." Kuroo murmured, slinking closer, camouflaging himself in the shadows along the edge of the street. 

The others followed in his footsteps, careful not to draw attention to themselves. 

As the crept closer, Hinata realized two things. 

The guard was in front of a large house, surrounded by a tall fence, and the guard happened to be the same boy from earlier. He was dressed in a ratty hoodie, with dark pants, a color Hinata couldn't quite figure out in the darkness.

_What a stroke of luck! Maybe he'll decide to help us!_

Kuroo stopped in his tracks, causing Hanamaki to run into his back yet again. 

"What the hell, dude!" Hanamaki groaned, stepping to stand beside him. Hinata couldn't see very well in the darkness that surrounded them, but he could see that Kuroo was slightly paler than usual. 

"What's wrong?" Hinata questioned, glancing back up at the raven-haired boy. 

"The guard, I recognize him." Kuroo whispered, making Hinata alert slightly. 

"Really? He looks familiar, but I couldn't figure out where I know him from." Hinata informed, looking towards the mystery boy. 

"His name is Yaku. He went to Nekoma High with me and Kenma, and was on the team with us. You played against him a few times. 

"Oh! That's it, I remember now!" Hinata exclaimed excitedly, too loudly. Yaku glanced over at them, squinting his eyes to try to see through the dark that concealed them. 

"Who's there? I have a weapon, y'know." Yaku called out, sounding hesitant. He had a knife clenched tightly in his right hand, and lifted it defensively.

Kuroo stepped out of the shadows, carefully approaching the shorter boy. "It's me, Kuroo. I'm here with some of my friends." 

Yaku froze, lowering his knife. "Kuroo? You're alive?" 

Hinata, Hanamaki, and Akaashi slowly followed after Kuroo, walking up to Yaku. Yaku jumped backwards when he noticed Hinata, raising his knife towards him. 

"It's you! You're the zombie from earlier!" Yaku whisper-shouted, looking panicked. Kuroo gently placed a hand on Yaku's arm, making him lower the knife.

"He's a friend, he won't hurt you. Right, Hinata?" Kuroo said softly, trying to calm Yaku down. 

"I'm not a full zombie, I can control myself. I won't hurt you." Hinata assured, taking a step back just in case. Yaku narrowed his eyes, but didn't try to attack him. 

"What the hell are you guys doing here? Aku will kill you all, you need to leave!" Yaku hissed, glancing back at the house behind him. 

"We're here to find Aku's base, which we have. We'll leave, but you need to come with us, we can help you. We take care of each other, unlike Aku." Akaashi answered, his eyes darting around nervously, still expecting to be ambushed at any given moment. 

"I can't go with you, Lev's inside with the others and I can't leave him behind. He's sick, Aku has the medicine he needs, I just need to convince him to let Lev have it." Yaku explained sadly, giving them a forlorn look. 

"Lev can come with us too, we'll work something out to get him the help he needs. Please, one of us can help you sneak him out, but we need to act fast." Kuroo decided, pleading with Yaku. 

"I'll help Yaku get him." Hinata volunteered, stepping closer to the group. Yaku shot him an unsure glance, but nodded after a long moment. 

"We need to quiet, there's a lot of people inside. We can't wake them up, or we'll be screwed." Yaku murmured. 

Hanamaki stayed silent, but tapped his foot anxiously, his eyes flickering towards the house nervously. For once, he seemed to have run out of witty jokes. 

"Let's go, then." Hinata said quietly, walking towards the house's front door. Yaku fell into step next to him, and pulled a key out of his pocket, and carefully unlocked the door, slowly pushing it open. 

"Lev is just around the corner, he was too tired to sleep upstairs with the others." Yaku informed, making Hinata simultaneously worried and relieved . They were lucky that Lev wasn't with the others, so he could slip out easier, but it was concerning how weak the boy must've been. 

As the two silently walked down the hall, Hinata spotted a small pile of various objects, and stopped dead in his tracks. 

Yaku followed his gaze, and frowned. "That's Aku's 'victory' pile, it's stuff he's taken from all the survivors he's killed." 

White-hot rage pooled inside Hinata, making him nearly dash up the stairs, straight to wherever Aku was sleeping. 

Because in the center of the pile, sat a small purple teddy bear, the one he'd given to Natsu on her fifth birthday. 

Next to it, a small pocket knife rested on the ground. Hinata recognized it instantly, as it was the one Daichi had always carried around. 

"I'm going to kill him." Hinata whispered softly, biting his lip to prevent himself from screaming in anguish.

He quickly snatched up the teddy bear and pocket knife, stuffing them in his backpack. 

"I'm sorry." Yaku said gently, realizing what had upset the ginger. Hinata stared forward with a steely gaze, and forced himself to push the anger to the side. He was on a mission, and he would be _damned_ if he let Aku ruin it. 

Hinata continued forward, rounding the corner and heading into what must've been the living room, instantly spotting Lev strewn across the couch. 

The tall boy was wheezing in his sleep, his long legs stretched across the cushion, one precariously dangling off the edge. Yaku walked up to him briskly, and shook him roughly, forcing him awake. 

"Yaku? What's going on?" Lev coughed, rubbing his eyes tiredly. 

"We're leaving, you need to get up right _now._ " Yaku hissed, struggling to pull Lev to his feet. Hinata ran over to help, grabbing one of Lev's arms. 

Together they managed to haul him off the couch, and he rested heavily on them, an arm slung around each of their shoulders. 

"Why do you have to be so freakishly tall?" Yaku grumbled, stumbling forward. Lev yawned in reply, unbothered. Hinata and Yaku dragged him down the hall, reaching the front door. 

As Yaku fumbled to open the door, Lev slipped slightly, forcing Hinata to yank him upright. 

They led Lev outside, ungracefully pulling him towards Kuroo, Akaashi, and Hanamaki. 

Kuroo trotted towards them, bending to give Lev a piggyback ride, so they could leave quicker. 

Once Lev was securely settled on Kuroo's back, he slipped back into sleep, clearly exhausted. Yaku and Hinata panted from their efforts, and followed their group back to Nekoma. 

The trip was silent, and Hinata spent the time thinking about what he'd found inside that house.

He knew now that Aku had killed his family, and found a new wave of hatred surge inside him. Aku had taken so much from him and his friends, and Hinata was determined to make him pay.

_Natsu was so young.._

Blinking away the tears that balanced delicately on his lashes, Hinata sighed quietly. 

Hanamaki glanced at him, but noticed his expression and stayed quiet. Hinata nodded appreciatively, and pulled the pocket knife out of his backpack. 

He was going to give it to Suga once they got back, knowing that Suga would be grateful for a small piece of Daichi to hold onto. 

Hinata twisted the knife around in his hands, fidgeting with it to try to calm himself down. He couldn't let himself get overwhelmed with anger, it would risk him becoming too hungry and aggressive, which would put his friends in danger. 

"We're back." Akaashi murmured, snapping Hinata back into focus. Their group had made it to the entryway of Nekoma, and quickly headed inside.

They were greeted by Suga, Matsukawa, Kenma, and a sleeping Bokuto. 

"Bokuto really tried his hardest to stay awake." Suga informed Akaashi, who gave Bokuto an amused smile. 

Matsukawa ran up to Hanamaki, wrapping his arms around him. "I'm glad you aren't dead." 

"So romantic." Hanamaki snorted, yet he hugged him nevertheless. 

"Kuroo? Yaku? Lev?" Kenma's normally bored expression was gone, replaced with a mixture of relief and pure confusion. 

"Hey." Yaku greeted, waving tiredly. Kuroo gave him an exhausted grin, worn out from carrying Lev all the way back home. 

"I'm gonna drop Lev off in a vacant room, and then I'm going straight to sleep. See you guys in the morning." Kuroo informed, heading down the hall. Yaku and Kenma trailed after him, chatting quietly. 

"I'll take Bokuto back to our room, good night." Akaashi said, gently shaking his boyfriend awake. Bokuto gave him a sloppy kiss, before groggily following his lover towards their room. 

"We're gonna crash, too." Hanamaki yawned, shuffling away with Matsukawa. 

Hinata and Suga were alone, and Hinata figured it was now or never. 

"Hey, Suga?" He started, hesitant.

"Yeah? Is everything okay?" Suga slid next to him, giving him a soft side hug. Hinata felt tears rise up, and held out the pocket knife. 

"I found it in Aku's base. I figured you'd want it." Hinata explained, gently pressing the knife into the silver-haired boy's hand. 

"This is.." Suga whispered, his sentence trailing off. 

"I know." Hinata mumbled, pulling him into a tight hug. 

The two stayed there for a long moment, comforting each other. 

"Thank you." Suga said quietly, before carefully pulling back. Hinata simply nodded, before giving him a weak smile. The two parted ways, heading towards their own rooms. 

Once Hinata had slipped inside his room, he pulled Natsu's teddy bear out of his bag, and held it tightly, inhaling the faint smell of his mother's detergent that barely lingered. 

He spotted Kageyama slumped in his sleeping area, most likely having fallen asleep waiting for him to return.

Hinata crept up to him, carefully sliding next to him, trying not to wake him up. Kageyama shifted in his sleep, slinging an arm around the ginger. 

Clutching the stuffed toy and wrapped in his boyfriend's embrace, Hinata finally let the tears fall.


	15. Good Karma

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sleepy Kags and Hinata owns my heart <3  
> We stan a healthy relationship 🙈
> 
> Next chapter will probs be the last, and maybe an epilogue after that 👀

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was looking through the people who bookmarked this and I saw that someone bookmarked it w the description of me being a devil in angels clothing and ranting ab me and it literally made my day omg
> 
> I literally thought of something huge while writing this chapter and now the entire ending of the story is altered 😈

Hinata was woken up by a sharp stab of hunger in his stomach. 

Yawning, he rubbed at his bleary eyes. He was pressed inwardly against Kageyama, who had his arms wrapped around him firmly. 

Sighing, he wiggled deeper into the embrace, not ready to get up and face the world just yet.

Kageyama mumbled something incoherent, before blinking his eyes open slowly. He hummed softly, burying his face in Hinata's neck. 

"Tobio, that tickles." Hinata giggled, twitching his neck away from the sleepy boy. Kageyama groaned in protest, but relented, giving Hinata a gentle kiss on the neck before backing away and sitting up. 

"Mornin'." Kageyama murmured, stretching his arms above his head. Hinata smiled at the sight, and rose up to lean against his torso, wrapping his arms around Natsu's teddy bear once again.

"Good morning." He answered, soaking up the peacefulness the two shared. 

"Where'd you get that from?" Kageyama questioned, resting his chin on Hinata's shoulder and glancing down at the stuffed toy. 

"I found it at Aku's base. It belonged to Natsu." Hinata said sadly, squeezing the toy slightly harder. 

"I'm so sorry, he's a monster." Kageyama comforted, giving Hinata a tight hug. Hinata smiled weakly, before carefully detangling himself from his boyfriend, and standing up. 

"Sorry, I'm hungry so I'm gonna head out." Hinata explained, walking across the room to grab a loose hoodie (that probably belonged to Kageyama at one point) and yanked it on, making his bed head even more wild. 

"You don't need to apologise, Sho. You're my _partner_ , not my pet. You don't need to feel guilty for having your own life, y'know?" Kageyama gave him a sleepy smile, before standing up to get dressed. 

Hinata smiled genuinely at that, realizing that his boyfriend was right. He needed to stop worrying about being different from everyone else, because they were _all_ unique, in their own ways. 

Walking out of the room, Hinata headed outside. 

The grumbling in his stomach was getting worse, but he wasn't surprised. He hadn't been eating as much lately, and barely ate anything off of that zombie yesterday, thanks to Aku. 

_It's interesting, when I first turned I was constantly hungry and ate around twice a day, but now my appetite has shrunk quite a bit._

_Maybe it's me adjusting to the virus?_

Making a mental note to ask Kuroo about it later, Hinata walked out into the school's parking lot, and decided to head the opposite direction of where he went yesterday, not wanting to have another run-in with Aku. 

Hinata quickly caught the scent trail of a zombie, and followed it. It led him towards a small convenience store, similar to the one his group had lived in months prior. 

The windows and glass door had long been shattered, with dried blood splattered in a few areas. The shelves inside had been picked clean, long empty. 

Creeping inside, Hinata spotted a zombie shuffling around in a back corner, and ran towards it. 

What he didn't notice, was that there happened to be three other zombies slinking around, hidden behind a shelf. 

As he easily killed the first zombie, he noticed the smell of more zombies, and paled. 

_I am NOT getting stitches again, so I guess I'll have to make this quick._

Hinata whirled around, and bolted to the nearest zombie, a female, and grabbed it's hair, pulling it's head over his knee and snapping it. 

The other two zombies must've sensed the danger, because they sprung at him. One lunged for his arm, and Hinata barely managed to move in time, it's teeth snapped millimeters away from his arm. 

The other grabbed at him with it's fingernails, digging them into his shoulder. Hinata screeched, yanking himself away from it and bit into it's throat, tearing it apart. 

While he was busy killing the zombie, he momentarily forgot about the other one, which proved to be a deadly mistake. 

The other zombie jumped on him, and sunk it's teeth awkwardly into the side of his neck, before Hinata grabbed at it, snapping it's neck over his knee. 

He had managed to kill the zombies, but had gotten himself bitten once again. 

Hinata sank to his knees, clutching at the bite mark. 

He tried to focus on his breathing, so he wouldn't hyperventilate. Nobody had ever lived long enough to be bitten twice, which meant he had no clue what would happen. 

_What if I end up turning now?_

_No, I'm supposed to be immune!_

_But what if I become a new type of zombie, or something!?_

_What the hell do I do?_

Panicking, Hinata tried to run back to the school. 

He was beginning to feel unwell, a searing heat throbbing across his neck. As he got increasingly dizzy, Hinata managed to drag himself through the streets, and eventually through the school's doors. 

He ran straight into Oikawa, who's irritated expression turned into concern once he spotted how sickly Hinata looked. 

"What's wrong, Shrimpy-chan?" Oikawa questioned, holding Hinata steady by grabbing onto his shoulders.

"It bit me." Hinata gasped, before his eyes rolled back into his head and he collapsed onto the tiled floor. 

-

Everything was burning. 

White-hot heat coursed through his body, like liquid fire was running through his veins. 

Every breath made his lungs blaze, while his neck pulsed with a searing pain. 

Forcing his eyes open, Hinata instantly winced at the bright white light of his room. Looking around, it was empty aside from himself. 

"Guys?" He croaked, struggling to sit up. 

He was laying in his old sleeping bag, and was wearing the same baggy brown pants he'd worn last night, but his shirt was missing. 

The door slanted open, and Tanaka peeked inside. 

"Hinata? Are you awake?" He questioned, still keeping a careful hand wrapped around a large knife. 

"Yeah, 'm not gonna hurt you." Hinata answered, each word feeling like it scraped his throat on its way out. 

"Oh, thank fucking god! I thought you were a goner, man! I'll grab the others, I'll be right back." Tanaka exclaimed, dashing away from the room. 

Hinata swallowed, rubbing his neck. His whole body was aching, but his neck was throbbing a lot more insistently. 

A few moments later, everyone but Lev was crowded in his room. 

"What the hell happened?"

"Is there anything you need?"

Oikawa and Suga spoke at the same time, and Suga raised an eyebrow at the brunette's harsh choice of words, while Iwaizumi rolled his eyes.

Ignoring Oikawa, Hinata turned to Suga. "Water, please." He croaked, desperate to soothe his aching throat. 

Suga nodded, and headed out of the room, returning with a cup of water a few seconds later. 

After taking a large gulp, Hinata relaxed slightly. The burning in his throat wasn't gone by any means, but the pain was more of a dull throb. "How long was I asleep?" 

The room was quiet. 

"Shoyo, you were unconscious for five days." 

Surprisingly, it was Kenma who broke the silence. Hinata whipped his head towards the quiet boy, who's cat-like eyes blinked slowly. He didn't say anything, but Hinata could see that he had been worried for him. 

"Five days?" Hinata echoed. 

"What happened to you? How did you get bitten?" Oikawa prodded, instinctively moving to stand slightly in front of Iwaizumi, in case Hinata attacked them. 

"I was killing a zombie, when three others attacked. The last one managed to bite me in my neck while my back was turned." Hinata explained, tilting his head to show the wound. 

"Yikes." Bokuto whistled, earning a look from the others. "Sorry." He apologized sheepishly. 

"Is he going to turn?" Kageyama questioned, turning to Kuroo. 

"I don't know, man! I'm assuming not, since he's talking to us and seems relatively okay." Kuroo shrugged, gesturing towards Hinata. 

"I feel like shit." Hinata said bluntly. 

"You aren't attacking us though. Do you feel different from normal?" Iwaizumi interrupted, nudging past Oikawa to squat next to Hinata. 

He placed the back of his hand against the ginger's forehead, before wincing slightly. "You definitely have a high fever."

Realization made Hinata freeze, and his eyes widened. 

"What is it?" Kageyama urged. 

"I can't smell your scents anymore. Not like I used to." Hinata murmured, a flicker of hope igniting in his chest. 

"What if the mutated version of the virus and the virus from the bite you just got clashed? Maybe they attacked each other and cancelled each other out, or something?" Akaashi suggested, and Kuroo nodded. 

"That sounds plausible."

"So does that mean I don't have it anymore? Can I eat normal food?" Hinata asked, trying not to get his hopes up, lest they come crashing down again.

"There's only one way to find out." Kiyoko said gently, while Noya jumped up to grab something from the cafeteria. 

He returned quickly, running into the room clutching a small candy bar that most definitely belonged to Kenma. 

Kenma's eye twitched, but he didn't protest. 

He tossed it to Hinata, who caught it easily, and opened it carefully. Hinata stared down at the candy, hesitating. 

"You can do this." Kageyama encouraged, moving to sit beside the ginger.

Hinata raised the chocolate bar to his mouth, and took a tentative bite, chewing slowly. 

The creamy sweetness melted on his tongue, a flavour he hadn't tasted in so long, ever since he'd turned. 

Sighing, he felt himself relax. 

"I missed junk food." He grinned, taking a larger bite. 

The group laughed, thrilled that he was fully human once more. Kageyama smiled, and pulled him into a tight hug. 

_I'm normal again!_

A giant wave of relief crashed over Hinata, making him smile widely. He didn't have to worry about attacking his friends, or eating zombies, and he could kiss Kageyama without risking turning him!

He turned slightly red at that last thought, but grinned nonetheless. 

"I don't think you should be eating candy when you're sick." Suga decided, gently taking the chocolate away from Hinata. 

Hinata pouted, but knew he was right. Besides, he had more serious stuff to worry about instead of candy. 

"Did you guys attack Aku while I was sleeping? Or vice versa?" Hinata questioned, biting his lip. He really hoped they hadn't, because he wanted to be the one to take down the man who killed his family. 

"We voted on it. Oikawa, Kageyama, Kenma, and Suga were all extremely determined to wait for you, but didn't say why. In the end, we just decided to wait. 

Hinata shot them a grateful glance, but was confused nevertheless. 

He'd told them what had happened with his family, and other than to Kageyama, he hadn't mentioned that Aku was the one who did it, so how did they know?

Oikawa winked at him, while Kageyama gave him a small smile. Kenma had an understanding expression on his face, and Suga just looked plain sad.

"Are you comfortable with telling us what happened?" Asahi pressed gently, everyone else nodding in unison. 

Hinata took a deep breath. 

"Back before we left Karasuno, I went by myself to see if my family was still alive, and if they were living in our house. I found them inside, but they were all dead. Survivors killed them. I didn't know who had done it, until I saw Natsu's teddy bear in Aku's..," He licked his lips. Hinata's throat felt dry again. "In his pile of mementoes he'd taken from the people he's killed." 

The room was silent. 

Yaku, Iwaizumi, Matsukawa, and Hanamaki wore grim expressions, most likely remembering the pile from when they had been forced to live with Aku. 

Noya, Bokuto, and Yachi looked like they were about to cry, and Asahi clearly seemed to regret asking. 

Kageyama was glaring at the ground, and Oikawa's cocky expression had morphed into one of sadness. 

Everyone else was staring at him, pity sewn into their eyes. 

Akaashi cleared his throat, breaking the suffocating silence. "I'm so sorry to hear that, I can't even imagine what you're going through. We'll help you take him down, okay?" 

Hinata gave him a weak smile, appreciating the effort. 

The pity was quickly making him uncomfortable, so Hinata changed the subject. "How's Lev doing?" 

Yaku narrowed his eyes, rubbing at his temples. "He's not doing so great. He's having a lot of trouble breathing, and spends most of his time sleeping." 

"He needs medication, I'm worried that he won't make it if we can't get him some." Suga added, sighing in frustration. 

An idea sparked inside Hinata's head. "Hey, can someone grab my bag?" Kageyama looked confused, but got up to retrieve the backpack Hinata had been using since the very beginning of the apocalypse. 

Once it had been handed to him, Hinata shoved his hand inside, looking for something. It was pretty full, with several weapons and extra clothes jumbled together, the old bag of zombie meat he had never gotten around to eating, and various other items he thought might be useful. He managed to find what he was looking for, and grabbed it out from the bottom of the bag. 

It was the medication he'd found in pharmacy months ago, that Kuroo had thought might be used for pneumonia. He hadn't had a reason to use it until now, so it was still full. 

Suga's eyes sparkled when he noticed the pill, and quickly snatched them from Hinata's palm. 

"This is Amoxicillin! We can use it to treat Lev, where did you _find_ this!? Why didn't I know about it?" Suga rambled, thrilled. 

"I found it back when we lived at that convenience store, and asked Kuroo about them because he's smart with science stuff. I didn't know you were interested in medicine, and I forgot about them by the time I learned that you wanted to be a doctor." Hinata explained, but Suga wasn't really paying attention, too busy celebrating the life saving pills. 

Hinata found himself smiling softly.

First, they would help Lev recover. 

Then, they would take down Aku.


	16. Well Deserved Revenge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You guys's comments literally fuel me sm I don't think y'all understand lmao. I got an extremely motivating and sweet comment from someone a day ago, and it literally pushed me to stop procrastinating and finally start this chapter!! Ily all <3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, if you're reading this, then that means you've stuck with me throughout this entire story. I just want to express how deeply thankful and overjoyed I am that people actually enjoyed this fanfic, because it's my first serious fanfic, and it's incredible that so many people actually chose to give it a shot. 
> 
> Thank you all so much, from the bottom of my heart! I hope you'll enjoy this last chapter, and finally forgive me for all the pain I out you through ;)
> 
> Enjoy!

It took awhile for Hinata to adjust to being human again. 

It wasn't uncommon for him to slip outside, ready to hunt down a meal- only to be stopped by one of his friends with a gentle reminder that he didn't need to. 

Eating meals with everyone in the cafeteria felt awkward at first, but eventually Hinata managed to enjoy it, happy to finally spend time with his friends without the pressure of staying on guard towards himself. 

Overall, everything was going pretty smoothly. Lev was almost back to normal, healing quickly thanks to the medication Sugawara had been giving him. 

Alas, the apocalypse had a sneaky way of interrupting any sort of normalcy they formed. 

The group of mismatched survivors had been enjoying a lovely breakfast of stale cereal in the school's cafeteria, bantering and joking amongst each other, when Oikawa, who'd gone to use the bathroom, burst through the doors. 

"Guys! He's here, he found us!" Oikawa wheezed, panting from running across the school. 

The room broke out into chaos. 

Everyone scrambled out of their seats, tripping over each other and knocking people around them onto the floor. Noya and Tanaka ran to grab the makeshift bombs they'd all been saving, while Kuroo grabbed Kenma and pulled him away from the flying limbs, after an elbow had come dangerously close to ramming into his eye. Iwaizumi ran to Oikawa, wrapping an arm around him, a dangerous glint in his eyes.

Sugawara was clenching the pocket knife that had previously belonged to Daichi, his face set with determination. 

"Everyone, calm the fuck down! We need to organize ourselves, and prepare to face Aku's group." Surprisingly, it was Akaashi who yelled. Bokuto was currently clinging to him, suctioned to his side. 

Akaashi had managed to startle everyone enough to freeze, while Kuroo nodded approvingly. 

"Yachi, Kiyoko, and Yaku, can you guys keep guard on Lev? He should be sleeping in his room right now. I don't think he's in a good enough condition to fight, yet." Kuroo requested, while the three nodded, running to the silver haired boy's room. 

"Kenma, you and Akaashi are the best from long distance, can you each take a few of the Molotov Cocktails and I think we have a couple bows stored in one of the empty rooms, you could use those to snipe with." Kenma and Akaashi nodded silently, taking a few of the bombs from Noya and Tanaka, who'd run back into the room earlier, arms filled with the explosives. 

Once they'd left, Kuroo turned to the others. "Asahi, I need you to prepare some first aid kits, for anyone who gets hurt. Once that's done, you can be the lookout, to warm us in case of any sneak attacks. There's a staircase in the left wing of the school that leads to the roof. Bring a bomb and some sort of weapon just in case." Asahi nodded, looking relieved that he wouldn't have to do any direct fighting. 

"I'll keep an eye on Shittykawa, everyone else should partner up as well." Iwaizumi interrupted, while Kuroo nodded in agreement. 

"I'll stick with Mattsun." Hanamaki declared, grabbing onto his boyfriend's arm. Matsukawa grinned, and patted his head. 

"I'm staying with Akaashi!" Bokuto shouted, surprising exactly no one. Akaashi gave him a small smile, but couldn't hide the anxiety that lurked in his eyes. The last time Akaashi had faced Aku's group, someone had died in front of him. He was desperate to make sure there wasn't a repeat, _especially_ not with Bokuto. 

"Kageyama's my partner!" Hinata piped up, latching into the taller boy, who simply nodded. Kageyama appeared to be calm, but from how tightly he was clutching the knife in his hand, Hinata knew it was a facade. 

"I guess I'm with you, Suga." Kuroo grinned, while Sugawara smiled faintly. 

"Lucky you, I suppose." 

"Tanaka and I will blow up anyone who messes with us, don't worry!" Noya cheered, earning a hearty slap on the back from Tanaka. 

Now that everyone was calmed down, they glanced at Oikawa, who'd finally recovered from his panicked sprint earlier. 

"Where did you see Aku?" Sugawara prodded, still grasping onto the pocket knife. 

"He was right outside, talking to his group members. They looked like they were planning out their attack, or something. I didn't stick around, I bolted right after seeing them. I didn't want them to spot me." Oikawa explained. Iwaizumi's hold around him tightened. 

"Well, if he wants a fight so bad, then we'll just have to give him one." Sugawara said sharply, stalking out of the cafeteria, the others following in his lead. 

Everyone spread out, splitting up at different hallways. 

Once Hinata and Kageyama were alone, they clasped hands. Kageyama's palms were sweating, and Hinata's were trembling slightly. They'd prepared for this for months, but it felt a lot more real now. 

Their footsteps echoed loudly throughout the empty hallway, shoes slapping against the linoleum tiles. 

"We got this, Tobio." Hinata murmured, clasping onto an old crowbar he'd picked up after losing his zombie super powers. Kageyama squeezed his hand in reply, eyes darting around the hallway. 

A shout from a few halls away grabbed their attention, making them sprint over to the source. 

Aku and his group were gathered around the lobby of the school, facing against Iwaizumi, Oikawa, Akaashi, And Bokuto. Hinata ran up to them, with Kageyama right behind him. 

Aku had his gun pointed at Iwaizumi, but Oikawa kept antagonizing him, making Aku slide the aim towards the brunette. 

Flicking the gun back towards Iwaizumi's chest, Aku gave them a sick grin. "We missed you, Iwaizumi. Why'd you have to sneak off?" 

Iwaizumi opened his mouth to snap back, but Oikawa interrupted. "He probably couldn't handle seeing such an ugly face any longer. I wouldn't blame him for running from you, either." 

Aku snarled, shifting to aim at Oikawa once again. "Shut the hell up, you cocky bitch." Oikawa was pale, but forced up another smirk. 

"Why? Are you jealous because Iwa chose me over you? Who could blame him, when you look like _that?"_ Oikawa gestured up and down, giving Aku a once over. 

"Are you _trying_ to get shot?" Iwaizumi hissed quietly, so Aku couldn't hear. 

"I'm not letting him hurt you again." Oikawa whispered back, before tossing out another taunt to Aku, who'd begun to aim back towards Iwaizumi. The gun snapped back towards the brunette, who breathed out a silent breath of relief. 

Two of Aku's followers lunged at Akaashi and Bokuto, forcing them away from the others. They were driven against a wall, slashing and dodging the attacks that flurried against them. Hinata tried to run over to help, only to be jumped at himself, a knife aimed directly towards his throat. 

Kageyama thrust out his own pipe, slamming the knife away before Hinata even had time to react. 

"Thanks." Hinata breathed, eyes wide. Kageyama's face mirrored his own, but he gave a short nod before turning back to the guy who'd attacked the ginger. 

Together they slammed their weapons at the unfortunate man, hitting him harshly on the head and torso. He dropped instantly, bleeding from the head and not breathing. 

A few more of Aku's supporters were running around, looking for people to fight. A couple ran down the hallways, and Hinata heard the loud explosion of one of the bombs being used, and saw a few flames flickering from a corner. 

The bomb's fire caused the school's sprinkler system to go off, dousing everyone in it's cold spray. 

Kuroo ran down the hallway, his normally unruly hair now slicked down against his forehead, and wielding a large carving knife that was suspiciously stained red. 

"Where's Suga?" Iwaizumi yelled, trying to be heard over the screams of fighting and spray of water. Kuroo mouthed something back, but Hinata couldn't tell what he was saying. 

Before he had a chance to ask, Kuroo was lunged at by someone on Aku's side, and dragged into yet another fight. 

While he was fighting, Hinata glanced around the room, trying to read the situation. 

Surprisingly, a good portion of Aku's team were huddled together in a corner, cowering in fear. Hinata couldn't tell if they were scared of his friends, or the punishment they'd get for not fighting alongside Aku. 

Next, Hinata noticed a head of silver hair sneaking up behind Aku, who was distracted by Oikawa's continuous insults. 

_Suga!_

A split second later, Suga jumped at Aku, landing a solid punch to the side of his head, knocking them both to the floor. Sugawara landed on top, and quickly stabbed Aku's hand with his pocket knife, forcing the man to let go of the gun. Sugawara swiped the gun away, sending it skittering towards Hinata. 

Hinata leapt towards the gun, grabbing it before any of their enemies had a chance. He leveled it at Aku, unsure of what to do. Sugawara was still on his back, and threw another heavy punch. 

"That was for Daichi, you bitch." Suga hissed, before climbing off of Aku, who was groaning in pain. 

Sugawara jogged up to Hinata, and gestured towards the gun. "The safety is already off. You just need to pull the trigger." 

Hinata blinked. "Don't you want to be the one to do it? He killed Daichi, after all." He offered the gun to Sugawara, who held up his hands in protest. 

"No. I want to save lives, not end them. I've done enough. Daichi would want me to move on." Suga said softly, a gentle look on his face. Hinata nodded, and glanced back at Aku, who was struggling to stand up. 

Hinata aimed the gun directly at Aku, who finally locked eyes with him. Aku's eyes glanced up to his bright orange hair, and Hinata saw a flicker of recognition in them. The older man opened his mouth to speak, but Hinata cut him off, squeezing the trigger three times. 

A bullet for each of his family members. 

Aku crumpled to the floor, and his supporters backed away from their fights nervously, knowing they'd lost. The other group members who hadn't done anything, cheered with relief. 

"Leave." Iwaizumi commanded, sensing the last of Aku's fighters running out the door, ditching their other group members. 

Hinata dropped the gun, overwhelmed. 

Kageyama instantly rushed to his side, wrapping him in a tight hug. Hinata clung to him, sobbing with a mixture of relief and exhaustion. 

"We won!" Bokuto's yell broke through the harsh silence, making several of them grin. He was sporting a black eye and a few cuts in his arm, and his normally pointed hair was limp from the water, hanging in front of his golden eyes, but was smiling widely nonetheless. Akaashi laughed with relief, jumping to hug his boyfriend, who looked thrilled with this idea. 

Akaashi himself was relatively fine, having only a few cuts scattered around his arms and a few bloody spots on his shirt, suggesting a couple gashes along his abdomen. 

The sprinklers finally stopped, and Hinata was grateful. He was chilled to the bone. 

Hinata himself had escaped unscathed, along with Sugawara and Kageyama. Kuroo clutching his arm, his face significantly pale. 

"Are you alright, Kuroo?" Sugawara asked, walking towards the taller boy. Kuroo groaned in response.

"One of the guys I was fighting had some sort of metal club, and hit me in the arm with it pretty hard. I think he broke my arm." 

Sugawara frowned, before gingerly touching along Kuroo's arm. His face was unreadable, but eventually he nodded. 

"It's definitely broken, but it feels like a clean break, which is helpful. I need to set it back in place, which is going to hurt. Akaashi, grab a belt or something for Kuroo to bite on. Bokuto, go get Kenma." Sugawara ordered. Akaashi unbuckled the belt he'd had around his waist, folding it in half and handing it to Kuroo, who placed it in his mouth. 

Bokuto ran off and returned a few minutes later, with Kenma running behind him, worry written all over his face. Kenma himself had a thin gash along his forehead, with blood trickling over his right eye. He sidled next to Kuroo, grabbing his good hand and squeezing reassuringly. 

"Okay, on the count of three, I'll push it back into place." Sugawara warned, while Kuroo nodded silently. 

"One-" 

_SNAP!_ Sugawara instantly pushed the bone back into place, while Kuroo's jaw clenched around the belt, muffling a few swear words. "Alright, perfect! Now we need to get you a splint and cast, we should have some in the nurse's office." Sugawara explained cheerily. 

Kuroo spat out the belt, wincing when he jostled his bad arm. "I thought you said you were going on the count of three!" 

Sugawara flashed him a bright smile. "I lied." 

Hinata forced down a snicker, watching as he led Kuroo and Kenma down towards the nurse's office. 

Noya came bounding down the hall, followed by Tanaka. Tanaka had his shirt off, and was swinging around his head in some sort of victory ritual that Hinata decided not to question. 

"We did it!" Noya whooped, jumping and giving Hinata a high five. Nishinoya was covered in small cuts, and a few burns littered his right arm. Tanaka was in a similar condition, but neither seemed to be bothered about it, too busy celebrating. 

"What happened to you guys?" Kageyama asked, eyeing their injuries. 

"We used a few of the bombs, and got a tiny bit of the backlash. It was totally worth it, though!" Nishinoya yelled, jumping in place. 

"The others are gathered in the cafeteria. Have you guys seen Suga, Kuroo, or Kenma? They're the only ones unaccounted for." Tanaka informed, giving them a hopeful glance. 

"They went to the nurse's office. Kuroo broke his arm, and Suga's patching him back up." Hinata answered, making Tanaka grin. 

"Alright, everyone made it through, then." 

"So, what're we doing about them?" Noya pointed towards the group of remaining members from Aku's group. 

A woman from the group stood up tentatively. "My name is Yamada Azumi. We never wanted to attack you, Aku forced us to come here. Please let us leave in peace, we won't bother you again." Several of the people around her nodded, looking around nervously.

"We have nothing against you guys, it was Aku we were after. You're free to hang around, or leave if you want. Either way, we won't harm you." Hinata declared, grinning at them. 

"Thank you. We'll probably stay at our current base, please stop by if you need anything at all." Azumi smiled softly, before leading her friends out of the school. 

Hinata and his friends waved farewell, before heading towards their cafeteria. 

-

Once they'd made it to their destination, Hinata scanned the room, looking for injuries. 

Hanamaki had dislocated his shoulder earlier, but Matsukawa helped him roll it back into place. Other than that, he seemed fine. Matsukawa had a bloody nose and lip, but the rest of his body was unscathed. 

Asahi had a few bruises along his arms, but otherwise seemed completely fine. 

Kiyoko was perfectly fine, along with Yaku and Yachi. Apparently only one guy made it to where they were, and Kiyoko instantly knocked him out, and he'd instantly sprinted away once regaining consciousness. 

Lev was fine as well, sitting on the ground and munching on a banana contentedly. 

Iwaizumi and Oikawa were soaked from the sprinklers, but unharmed. They'd spent the whole time facing off Aku, and hadn't been attacked by anyone. The two were currently bickering, but their clenched hands told everyone that it wasn't anything serious. 

Overall, all of his friends were safe and sound. 

Sugawara strolled into the room, a mischievous smile lighting up his delicate face. Kuroo shuffled behind him, scowling, accompanied by his smirking boyfriend. 

"Kuroo survived!" Sugawara cheered, slapping the taller boy on the back. 

"Barely. Suga's _help_ was more painful than the actual breaking of my arm." Kuroo whined. Kenma rolled his eyes. 

"Stop being a baby." 

"Kenma!" Kuroo frowned, dragging out the last syllable of the name. Kenma snickered, dragging Kuroo to sit down next to Bokuto and Akaashi. 

While his friends teased each other, Hinata found himself smiling genuinely. Kageyama slid his arm around his shoulders, looking down at him softly. 

Hinata leaned his head against his boyfriend, feeling warm despite his dripping clothing.

It had taken him a while, but he'd realized something important. 

As long as their group was together, they were all immune to the pain and suffering the apocalypse threw at them. 

They had found their own immunity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for sticking around until the very end. I hope you enjoyed <3

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!!


End file.
